


In Dreams and Film Scenes

by snazzy_23



Category: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020)
Genre: Actor Kartik Singh, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Aman hates it here, Aman is like a misunderstood coconut, Aman is practically a boomer, Aman is tired of Kartik, College Professor Aman Tripathi, Domestic Fluff, Dont ask why, Dreams and Nightmares, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Kartik is tired but he loves his job, Kusum is Kartik's sister, Love Confessions, M/M, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Pining, Rabi is tired of Kartik's shit, Realizations, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, award show kisses are adorable pls, but the death plays a huge part in the story, happy endings, heterosexuals: Error 404 not found, is beer allergy even a thing?, loosely based on My Love From the Stars, much like Kartik did, remember kids too much drinking can make you end up in the hospital, rich people are crazy, the author is on crack, the media is full of dickheads, the tags are getting out of hand, this has turned into a crime thriller and what about it?, who even has cruise weddings smh, yo why is Kartik always in the hospital?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:26:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 54,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24000556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snazzy_23/pseuds/snazzy_23
Summary: Aman has dreams in which he sees a man fall from a boat. He has never seen the man's face in his dreams. He tries to go on with his life but always finds himself pondering about this exact dream. Kartik is an actor who is at his prime. After an incident at his old apartment building, he moves to a new apartment that happens to be next to Aman's. Aman is annoyed with him from day 1.But then a high profile suicide (murder?) case happens which starts affecting Kartik's career. In the middle of this, the two become closer to each other.
Relationships: Kabir/Khalid (mentioned), Kartik Singh/Aman Tripathi
Comments: 317
Kudos: 226





	1. Scene 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello everyone and welcome to this new work of mine.   
> I'll probably have a weekly or a twice a week update schedule for this depending on how motivated I feel.   
> for now, enjoy the first chapter.   
> lots of love, shakchi <3  
> also tw for mentions of sexual assault and victim-blaming. this chapter came to works before the whole boys locker room thing so i didn't intend on hurting anyone's feeling. if please stay aware and safe.

Aman has a dream. Now normally when you hear someone has dreams, you think it must be their aspirations, but not in the case of Aman. Every night at around 12:30-1:00 am, Aman is awoken and it is the same thing every night.

_A person wearing what seems like black pants and a pair of black shoes with weird golden details on them that hold no meaning to Aman._

That doesn’t sound scary right? Because what’s scary is coming after that.

_They are on a cruise near the end. A wave passes by. Aman looks at where the man is about to fall off the cruise. In a moment, he hears a splash sound._

That, is what Aman’s dreams have been like since the age of 8. Aman doesn’t know what this dream indicates. Every one he has talked to just says it’s his mind playing tricks at him and he should just stop thinking about it. Aman has tried to stop thinking about it but it just doesn’t stop.

And since ignorance is bliss, at the age of 28, Aman is now a college professor who teaches psychology to students. Why psychology? Well it mostly started as a way to find answers for the questions that have been haunting him since his childhood but somewhere along the lines, he fell in love with it.

Aman maintains a simple routine in his life, he gets up in the morning, gets ready for his day, goes to college, teaches, comes back home, and goes to sleep. Sometimes little changes are brought to his routine by his sister but that’s it. Aman has no energy to deal with people and actually bother to broaden his circle.

Life is simple but that is all Aman wants.

_On the other hand,_

“My Lord, Mr. Kartik Singh has committed a violent crime against my client. I mean who beats up someone so harshly that they end up in the hospital for 8 weeks?” the opposition lawyer cries. Kartik, who is sitting on the witness box just scoffs and rolls his eyes.

“Mr. Sharma, he did that because he got assaulted. Can you please not take the assault thing lightly here, my lord?” His lawyer, Ms. Shetty, replies.

“But he just stared at him, now is staring a crime? I stare at my children all the time, should they beat me up and put me in the hospital for weeks too?” Mr. Sharma, who apparently has no _sharam_ ( _shame)_ says.

“I mean if you give them the look he gave me,” Kartik starts and glares at the “victim” who filed the case against him, “then you should be convicted of pedophilia, incest, and sexual assault,” Everyone starts hollering at that and Kartik just gives them a small wave. He looks at _bina sharam wale Sharma ji_ ( _Sharma ji with no shame)_ and can see the steam rising on his head. Kartik wants to laugh but decides against it.

“My lord, there is no point in discussing this for long, the beating was a form of self-defense, my client did nothing wrong here,” Ms. Shetty says. Kartik waits for the verdict knowing he will get justice.

“The victim’s side, do you have anything else to say?” the opposition is asked. But no one says anything and Kartik knows he has won this round.

“Well after looking through all the pieces of evidence and hearing both the parties, the court has decided to not put any charges on Mr. Kartik Singh and orders the victim side to pay for all the court proceeding. The court is adjourned,” Everyone starts to get up and Kartik moves from the witness box towards his lawyer. He thanks her for everything she has done for him. She waves him off and tells him to go home and rest. Kartik gives her a smile and a nod and moves towards the place where his manager and assistant are waiting for him.

“Thank god sab acche se hogaya aur aapko koi saja nahi mili,” His manager, Rabi says ( _Thank god everything went well and you didn’t get any punishment.)_

“Khush toh bahot ho raha hai, teri chutti cancel hogayi isme kya khusi ki baat hai?” Kartik replies. He starts making his way towards his car. Once he gets there, he opens the back door and takes a seat. His assistant comes in through the other door and takes a seat next to him while his manager moves to the front seat. His manager gives instructions to the new place he rented after the whole staring thing happened and today is his first day in the new apartment. ( _You’re pretty happy about it, your break got canceled I don’t see a reason for happiness.)_

They make a small conversation on their way. His manager updates him on his schedule for tomorrow. Once they get to his apartment building, his manager and assistant try to follow him to his apartment.

“Arey, ek baar hua iska matlab yeh toh nahi ki har baar hoga? Tum log na itni chinta karna band karo aur jane do mujhe,” Kartik says annoyed by them. ( _Just because it happened once doesn’t mean it’ll happen everytime. You guys can stop worrying and let me go.)_

“Par sir, hum bas aapki safety chahate hai,” his manager says and his assistant agrees. He smiles at their protectiveness but tells them that he’ll be fine without them. They reluctantly agree and let him go. Kartik walks towards the elevator and presses the button. As he is waiting for the elevator to arrive, someone comes and stands next to him. ( _But sir, we just want your safety.)_

Kartik turns to look at the man and notices that the man is not looking at him but straight ahead towards the elevator. Before Kartik can say anything, the elevator arrives and the man moves to get inside. He presses a button on the dial. Kartik looks at the number and it’s 14. _Which is my floor, OMG is this dude following me?_ Kartik thinks and starts to get angry.

“Aaj kal news kitni jaldi leak hoti hai na? Like maine bas kuch hi din pehele yeh apartment liya aur aaj mere apartment floor ka number bhi pata chal gaya?” Kartik gasps in disbelief. He moves closer to the man and says, “kab se kar rahe ho mera picha? Kaise pata chala iss apartment ke bareme?” ( _News leaks fast these days, don’t you think? Like I got this apartment only a few days ago but today someone knows the floor number of it_.) ( _How long have you been following me? How did you know about this apartment?)_

The man doesn’t move to look at him and just stares straight ahead. Kartik is very confused about this stalker’s behavior and doesn’t know what to make of it. Kartik realizes that he is probably just frozen up because he got caught in the act of trying to stalk him.

“Accha chalo yeh baat hum secret rakh lengay agar tum mujhe yeh batado ki tumhe yeh location kisne diya, aur bolo kya chahiye tumhe? Autograph? A selfie?” Kartik tries to negotiate with the stalker but still he receives nothing in response. But before he can say anything, they reach their destination and the doors of the elevator open. The man walks out before Kartik moves. Kartik sees red at this and starts screaming, ( _okay, we can keep this thing a secret if you tell me how you came to know about this location, and tell me what you need?)_

“You pervert, you have no idea what I just did to someone like you just weeks ago, just wait till I get the author- _oh shit you’re my new neighbor_ ” Kartik realizes when the man stops at the door which is right next to his new apartment.

“Sorry about that, I just moved into 1402. I’m sure you know who I am, but I’ll-”

“I don’t know who you are and frankly I don’t care about who you are,” the man replies giving Kartik an unimpressed look.

“Oh that’s um well okay I guess I’ll-” Kartik starts only to get interrupted again.

“Kya tum ja sakte ho? Mujhe mera passcode type karna hai,” The man replies and Kartik is stunned. ( _Can you leave? I need to type my passcode.)_

“Okay sorry, I was just leaving,” Kartik says and moves towards his own apartment. He types his passcode and gives one last look to his neighbor before going inside. _Well, that was a way to meet your neighbor._

Kartik decides to ignore the whole incident promising to apologize to the new neighbor because he doesn’t want drama. But that can wait till later. He goes to his new bedroom and looks around. He is very pleased with the decoration in this apartment. His bedroom especially feels like the one he has always wanted. He jumps on the bed and sighs in relief.

After a while, he gets up from his bed and changes into something more comfortable. He moves to the living room and orders dinner for the night. He takes his dinner and his laptop, moving to sit on the floor. He opens up the containers and starts eating straight from it. He opens up Google on his laptop and searches for his name. _Look, I’m not self-obsessed. Okay maybe I am a little but today it’s just for the articles._

The search results pop up and the first thing he sees is an article which reads,

**_Celebrities like Kartik Singh are the reason why normal people don’t get justice._** Kartik’s heart stops. He clicks on the articles and starts reading it.

_Today was the day the victim of the crime committed by actor Kartik Singh was supposed to get his justice. The man, who has asked to remain anonymous, filed a case against Singh for beating him so harshly he landed in the hospital for eight weeks straight. The victim comes from a poor family so you could imagine the burden he must have gone through due to the hospitalization and also the court proceedings._

_But today, instead of justice, the victim was made to suffer more. All because he made the mistake of staring at the actor. So now this is what you get for staring at someone? And moreover, his lawyer called it a form of sexual abuse. The sheer absurdity of this situation is baffling to so many of us. Many women in our country have faced a much more horrible situation than this A-lister but we don’t see people talk about them. But instead, a celebrity is not charged for assaulting a normal citizen._

_Is this your justice? Is this what we deserve for not being born as someone rich? We deserve answers.  
  
_

Kartik’s heart shatters reading the entire thing. He has no words. How can people say and think stuff like this? He was the victim in this situation not the man. How can people even call him the culprit in this entire situation? Kartik puts his head in his hands and starts sobbing.

He has been in this industry since he was 15. He has been through so much but people overlook everything and just focus on one thing. One mistake he makes and bam! There goes the media. Kartik is so tired of all of this. But this is also what he wanted. This was his goal, his aspirations. He has to be strong and not listen to people. _But the thing is, he can’t._

Acting is his passion. It’s something he uses as an escape from reality. An escape from life. _But how long can he do that for?_

_Back to Aman,_

After the whole incident with that asshole of a neighbor of his, Aman is annoyed. _Who the hell was that and what does he think of himself. Oh god I can’t believe I’ll have THAT as my new neighbor._ Aman thinks. He decides to ignore that and just in general avoid the new neighbor. But life has different plans for him because, at around 10:30, he hears loud singing noises.

“ _Apne Karam Ki Kar Adaayein  
Yaara, Yaaraa... Yaara!”_

Whoever is singing has definitely lost it.

“ _Mujhko Iraade De_  
Kasamein De, Waade De  
Meri Duaaon Ke Ishaaron Ko Sahaare De  
Dil Ko Thikaane De  
Naye Bahaane De  
Khwaabon Ki Baarishon Ko  
Mausam Ke Paimane De  
Apne Karam Ki Kar Adaayein  
Kar De Idhar Bhi Tu Nigaahein”

_Filhaal toh tu mujhe sone de,_ Aman thinks. ( _Let me sleep for now._ )

_“Sun Raha Hai Naa Tu  
Ro Raha Hun Main  
Sun Raha Hai Naa Tu  
Kyun Ro Raha Hun Main”_

_Haan sun toh raha hi hoon, par kaash mere kaan ke parde ise pehele fatt jate_ , Aman thinks. ( _Yes I’m listening to you, but I wish I wasn’t_ )

Before this person continues any further, Aman has to stop him. He gets up from his bed and pulls his cardigan on. He goes towards his living room trying to figure out where the noise is coming from. When he realizes the noise is coming from his new neighbor’s apartment, Aman sees red and immediately goes to his door. He pulls it open and stomps to his neighbor’s doorstep. He gives three harsh knocks on the door and waits till he hears someone coming towards the door.

Once the door is open, he sees that his new neighbor is standing there with a toothbrush in his mouth, his hair all messy and sticking out in every possible direction. His eyes are red-rimmed signaling that he probably had been crying a few moments ago. Aman decides to ignore that and just starts complaining.

“Did no one tell you that the walls aren’t soundproof here? Do you think you’re the only person who lives here? Are you that dumb?” Aman yells out without thinking. Aman can see his neighbor trying to process his words. He thinks his part is done and moves to leave but is stopped when his neighbor starts.

“Oh look, another normal person affected due to a celebrity like Kartik Singh. I’m sorry, I’m sorry for being the way I am. I’m sorry for being a normal human who makes normal mistakes. You know what, I’m sorry for existing, I hope you won’t be tortured by me again,” The man replies and shuts the door on his face.

Aman stands there stunned. He didn’t know what provoked that reaction out of the man. Aman decides to leave, not wanting to deal with someone else’s shit when he has enough of his own. He goes back to his apartment and immediately goes to bed.

At around 12:30 am, he is woken up by the same dream. He tries to calm himself down by taking deep breaths. Once he is calm enough and aware of his surrounding, he notices that he can hear muffled crying coming from the other side of his bedroom wall. He remembers the incident he had with his neighbor and feels a little bad.

He goes back to sleep hoping to never cross path with his new neighbor.

While Kartik, being a sobbing mess, promises himself to never come face-to-face with his neighbor ever again.

_Neither of them knows how fate has twined their life together._


	2. Scene 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aman finds a huge missing piece in the puzzle that is his dream.   
> Also, a closer look into Kartik's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me at myself: well, not exactly patient are we lol?   
> Enjoy this chapter!

“So what’s next on our schedule for the day?” Kartik asks. He just finished shooting for the day and is currently resting in his dressing room. His assistant hands him a glass of orange juice as he tries to cool himself down.

“Well, you have an interview in about 2 hours from now,” Rabi replies looking at his tablet.

“An interview? After this intense shoot? Nahi maar hi do,” Kartik replies and rolls his eyes. ( _No, just kill me._ )

“Kya interview hai batau kya?” Rabi asks testing the waters. ( _Should I say what the interview is about?_ )

“Nahi surprise rakhte hai, without preparations jayengay aur kaam bigad ke aajayegay. Thik hai na?” Kartik replies sarcastically. ( _No. let’s keep it a surprise, we should go without any preparations and mess it up. Works right?_ )

“Haan siddha toh bolna aata hi nahi kisiko bhi,” Rabi says annoyed with Kartik. “But it’s an honest interview like they’ll ask you about-” ( _Right, no one can talk normally here._ )

“I know what an honest interview is, are they seriously doing this to me? I can’t believe it,” Kartik scoffs in disbelief but he also knows the reason for them scheduling the interview so he doesn’t protest much.

2 hours and a pound of makeup later, Kartik is sitting on the couch in the set of the interview. The interviewer is giving him a sympathetic smile and Kartik is 0.02 seconds away from calling him out or maybe punching him. Before he can do anything though, the crew members tell him the interview is about to start and he puts on the infamous, always lovable Kartik Singh persona on and smiles.

“Hello everyone, today we are joined here by the spectacular Kartik Singh, let’s give him a round of applause,” the interviewer says and everyone present starts clapping. Kartik gives them a smile and wave, mouthing a ‘thank you’.

“so Kartik, thank you so much for agreeing to this,” the interview says and Kartik laughs before replying, “Oh, believe me, I should be thanking you,” this makes the interviewer laugh and they get into the general conversation about his career before moving on to the more serious topics.

“So Kartik, I think everyone here is pretty familiar with your work life. But I don’t think most people know about your personal life. Like your family background, your struggles, your love life,” the interviewer says with an eyebrow wiggle making everyone laugh.

“I guess you could say that,” Kartik replies in between the laughs.

“Is there a reason behind it?” The interviewer starts getting a little serious now.

“Not exactly. I have never been asked about my family much in interviews,” Kartik replies. “And my family, well it’s just me, my sister and my mom. Dad left us when I was around 17, haven’t seen him since,” Kartik replies with a shrug.

“Any reason why he left?” The interviewer asks and Kartik gets a bitter smile on his face remembering the exact moment his dad left them forever.

“He and my mom were getting a divorce. They were discussing on who gets to keep what. Turns out I was an object in this auction too, I remember the exact words my dad said, and I quote, ‘I’m taking Kartik with me because he earns me money,’ and that is all I was to him, a money-making machine. It hurts to think about it, but you know, we were never really close as a family so I don’t worry much,” Kartik replies, the bitter smile never leaving his face. He tries not to get choked up while talking about it and takes deep breathes.

“Do you want to continue, Kartik? We can stop if you’d like,” Kartik appreciates this gesture but he knows he has to talk about it at some point. Since he has already started, might as well get it over with, right?

“No, I’m good don’t worry,” Kartik replies with a fake smile.

“So were you out to your parents before your dad left?” the interviewer asks.

“No, I never officially came out to my family, I think they knew I was gay because of my first relationship in the spotlight,” Kartik says.

“What was their reaction like?”

“My mom was pissed at first but as soon as my management said that this could be good for my career, my mom became the most supportive ally you could ever find. And well my sister doesn’t care. Like everything else that happens in my life,” Kartik replies with a bitter laugh.

“So I’ll assume you aren’t close with your sister?”

“I haven’t talked to her in two months, I’ll let you take your guess. But even though we aren’t as tight as normal siblings, I care about her a lot. I don’t know how to show love and care emotions but I know it’s there. And I hope she knows it’s there,” Kartik replies and looks up at the camera.

“Wow, that’s just…….. I’m actually speechless Kartik. People really have wrong opinions about you,” the interviewer says and Kartik ducks his head looking at his lap with a blush on his face.

“Speaking of people’s opinion, many people often talk about how you and the heiress of Chaturvedy Group, Devika, are dating. What do you want to say about those rumors?” Kartik looks at the interviewer in disbelief.

“There’s a rumor like that? I’m gay Karen. I don’t do girls ew what the hell?” Kartik says disgusted at the fact that people would link him and Devika together. Devika, who is a girl, Devika, who is his best friend since childhood, nope nope.

“I mean I have heard about it but I don’t exactly believe it,” the interviewer says laughing.

“Devi is an incredible friend to me. We have been friends since school days. She supports me more than my family but even if I was straight, I can’t see myself dating her because she feels more like a sister to me,” Kartik says.

“Well I’ll take your word for that but how’s the love life department for you?”

“It’s non-existent to start,” Kartik says with a laugh. “No but seriously, I’m nearly 30. Everyone says I should get married now but I just can’t find ‘the one’ that everyone talks about, you know?”

“Yeah I get what you mean? So what do you expect from this ‘the one’?”

“I honestly don’t know. I just need someone who understands me. Someone who knows why I am the way I am. Someone who is supportive of me. Someone who will never leave my side no matter what life brings at us. And I’m willing to wait as long as it takes for the ‘the one’,” Kartik replies and notices he has tears in his eyes and everyone is looking at him with a sad smile on their faces. He just chokes out a laugh and waves everyone off.

After that, they talk a little more about Kartik’s work life and his upcoming projects before going off-air. The interviewer gives Kartik a hug, thanking him for being brave enough to admit the things he did. Kartik leaves the interview set and gets in his car where Rabi and his assistant are waiting for him.

“So that was intense,” Rabi starts after a moment of silence.

“Yeah it was. But it was important too,” Kartik replies and asks his assistant for some wet wipes so he can wipe off the pounds of makeup they put on his face to hide his tiredness.

“But I don’t understand, why today out of every other day?” Rabi asks and Kartik wants to knock some sense into his head. Even after spending nearly 3 years with him, he doesn’t know how PR works.

“Sympathy points, darling. After the whole assault case, the nation was against me. After this interview, I’ll gain some of their sympathies back. I know it’s horrible but this is PR. We actors can’t live without it,” Kartik explains.

“I hate how politics works in this industry,” Rabi sighs out.

“Same,” Kartik replies. “Can we go to the cookie shop where we always go?” Kartik says to his driver.

“Are you having cravings again? You know you have a strict diet to maintain for this role,” Rabi says. Kartik kicks the back of his seat and says, “it’s not for me, you idiot. The chairman of our building came to tell me that they do a welcome for each new tenant so they are doing one for me today. I don’t want to go empty-handed so cookies it is,”

“Oh that makes sense, let’s take a turn” Rabi says and they go to Kartik’s favorite cookie shop.

_On the other side,_

“Paanch saal, Goggle. Paanch saal hogaye hai mujhe iss apartment building meh rehete huwe. Maine toh aaj tak nahi dekha yeh ‘welcome new tenant’ party. Ek celebrity woh bhi waise arrogant wale k liye kyun?” Aman complains on his phone as he fixes his shirt’s collar for the “party”. ( _Five years, Goggle. It’s been five years since I have been living in this apartment building. I have never seen a ‘welcome new tenant’ party. And they are doing it for a celebrity, that too someone as arrogant as him.)_

“Naya trend hoga, I don’t know,” Goggle replies. ( _It must be a new trend.)_

“Naya trend my ass. Yeh sab na bas uske good books me aane k liye hoga. Mein inke rag rag se waakif hu,” Aman scoffs. ( _New trend my ass. It’s all their plans to get in his good books. I’m familiar with each and every one of them_ )

“Jealousy is a disease and you have it,” Goggle replies.

“I’m not jealous of that ignorant heathen,” Aman replies annoyed at her replies.

“Okay calm down. Don’t burst a nerve and just leave for the party. Stay there for a few minutes and leave saying you have to prepare for the classes or something. It’s not rocket science,” Goggle finally says something intelligent.

“Okay I’ll do that then. Bye I’ll talk to you later,” Aman says.

“I seriously don’t know why I still deal with your grumpy ass, bye,” Goggle says and hangs up. Aman gives one last look at himself in the mirror and leaves for the “welcome party”.

Once he gets to the hall that is in the basement of their building, he notices that everyone is in attendance except for the “chief guest”. Aman didn’t expect any better from him so he isn’t exactly disappointed. He goes over and stands where everyone is waiting and joins in the small conversation they are making.

After some time, they can hear loud conversation in the hallway, and Aman knows that his annoying neighbor has arrived. He sees him walk in through the door with two people behind him holding stuff while he just gestures them to put the things they are holding on the tables. He walks over to where everyone is waiting and just gives them a wave as if he is in the middle of a fan meeting.

_Self-obsessed. God I hate the actors these days._ Aman thinks.

Then he bows down and starts introducing himself, “Hello, I’m Kartik Singh. I’m pretty sure you all know that but I didn’t want to be ignorant by not introducing myself,”

After that everyone slowly starts introducing themselves and telling which flat number they live in. once it’s Aman’s turn, he just glares at the actor and says, “Aman Tripathi, 1401,” Kartik gives him a fake smile in return.

“Okay I’ll try to remember all of your names the best as I can. But till then, I got everyone some cookies so please help yourself. It’s really nice meeting everyone here,” Kartik says and points to where the two people he came in with are opening up the boxes of cookies. Everyone starts to walk in that direction while Aman stays behind. He decides he has had enough for the day and leaves the hall without informing anyone.

_Not like anyone in that hall cares._

A few days later, Aman walks into the teacher’s lounge after noticing a bunch of weird equipment outside in the hallways of the university. He also notices that the department head is sitting on the desk while everyone is gathered around him with weird smiles on their faces. Aman is extremely confused and borderline creeped out with what’s happening. He decides to ignore it and just walks over to his desk preparing his things for his first class.

“Professor Tripathi, you don’t need to bother with classes today,” the department head, Professor Khan, says.

“What do you mean?” Aman asks narrowing his eyes in question.

“The studies are off for the day,” is what he gets in reply. He is pissed to say the least.

“And you couldn’t have said that before I came to college?” Aman mutters out.

“We are having a filming crew at the college today. They are shooting a movie in our college,” Professor Khan says and Aman hears the unspoken ‘and we have to be here for the help’.

A few moments later, Aman stands in the sun with an ID around his neck which reads, ‘On-set volunteer’. Aman wants to rip that ID into shreds and just kill everyone who comes his way. Aman’s plan flops when he sees the trailers of the actors come and from those walks out, surprise surprise, Kartik Fucking Singh.

_Change of plans, I’m going to use this ID to strangle myself._ Aman thinks.

The man walks towards where Aman is standing and takes off his sunglasses. He looks at him from top to bottom and scoffs.

“Now I’m really convinced that you are stalking me,” Kartik Annoying Singh starts and Aman is 0.02 seconds away from putting the ID around Kartik’s neck and strangling him to death.

“Trust me, I have better things to do in life. This is my workplace so I’m going to maintain the ethic and not kill you. I suggest you stay away from me,” Aman replies.

“Workplace, aish. A professor with your temper? Your students must hate you,” Kartik says taunting Aman.

“You little-” Aman starts but his eyes fall on Kartik’s feet, more specifically his shoes. _A pair of black shoes with the golden details which make no sense to Aman. The same shoes that have been haunting Aman for the last 20 years of life._

“What? The cat caught your tongue or something?” Kartik asks. When he looks at Aman, he sees that Aman’s eyes are transfixed on his shoes. Kartik smirks and starts, “oh you like my shoes? They are custom made. Only I have this pair, no one else in the country does,”

When Kartik notices that Aman is practically unresponsive, he snaps his fingers in front of Aman’s face which snaps him out of his daze. Kartik looks at Aman who looks terrified for some reason. Aman runs away from there without saying anything and Kartik is extremely confused. Aman runs into the staff restroom and leans against the counter.

_That man, the man I’m seeing in my dreams, it’s him. It’s Kartik. If my dream is going to come true, Kartik’s life is in danger. Oh god what do I do? How do I stop this?_ Aman thinks and looks at himself in the mirror.

_There has to be a way to stop this ill fate._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, penny for your thoughts?   
> we are slowly but steadily getting into the plot and I'm enjoying it a lot.   
> and as always, your kudos and comments make my day so please keep em coming.   
> till next time!
> 
> twitter: snazzy_23onao3


	3. Scene 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two different people, two different coping mechanisms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone, this chapter is brought to you by 'shakchi has an assignment deadline in 4 days but lol who cares about responsibilities'   
> also this chapter was supposed to angsty but I am incapable soooo  
> enjoy! :)

“Can’t believe I’m going to spend a night out at a bingo club at the age of 27. Yeh budhapa thoda jaldi nahi aagaya?” Goggle says as they make their way inside the café where the bingo club was having a bingo night. ( _The old age came sooner, don’t you think?_ )

“Chup kar, bingo club jaisa shant aur peaceful environment tere woh clubs mei kabhi nahi milega,” Aman replies rolling his eyes for the nth time because of his sister’s uncontrollable whining. ( _Shut up, you’ll never find the quiet and peaceful environment of the bingo club at your clubs_ )

“Dekhna ek din aisa aayega ki tu clubs ki wah wah karega,” Goggle says and takes a seat on one of the tables. ( _Just wait and see, a day will come when you’ll praise the clubs)_

“We’ll see,” Aman replies and goes to the front to order their drinks. _A black coffee and blueberry muffin for me and a mocha latte for Goggle._ He pays and goes back to where Goggle is sitting. They prepare themselves for the bingo round while they wait for their order to arrive. After everything is done, Goggle asks him the thing he is dreading to talk about.

“Toh Aman, hum yaha kyun aaye aaj? And don’t even try to fool me. Mein tujhe sab se acche se janti hu, tu without any reason aise bingo nights ki request nahi karta hai,” Goggle says looking at Aman with her eyebrows raised. ( _So Aman, why are we here today? And don’t try to fool me. I know you better than anyone else, you don’t go to bingo nights without any reason._ )

“Aisi koi khaas baat nahi hai bas-” Aman starts and looks down at his lap to avoid eye contact with Goggle. ( _It’s nothing special-_ )

“Jo bhi hai mujhe janna hai, chal ab muh khol,” Goggle says not wanting to deal with Aman’s bullshit. Aman knows he has no choice but to admit whatever is on his mind. ( _Whatever it is I want to know. Now spill._ )

“So, tujhe mere dreams toh pata hi hai. I found the shoes. And it’s owner,” Aman says in small voice hoping Goggle wouldn’t hear but she catches what he is saying and gasps out loud. ( _So you know about my dreams, right?_ )

“Kaun hai woh, Aman?” she asks and Aman notices that she is slightly shaking. ( _Who is it, Aman?_ )

“Goggle, calm down first,” Aman says and moves to rub her back to soothe her.

“Okay, I’m calm. Ab toh bata,” Goggle says after a moment of silence. ( _Tell me now._ )

“Kartik, Kartik Singh,” Aman says and Goggle sucks in a deep breath. When he looks at her, her eyes are wide and she is seemingly in a deep state of shock. Aman tries to shake her out of it and succeeds after a few minutes.

“Your neighbor owns the shoes you have been seeing in your dreams?” Goggle says still shocked.

“Not only that, apparently it’s custom made and only he owns the one pair in this entire country,” Aman says and rubs his hands on his face in frustration.

“Aman. What are we going to do now?” Goggle asks and she sounds scared. Aman knew it was a bad idea to tell her about the shoes but now he can’t back out.

“I don’t know. I can’t exactly go up to him and say, ‘hey throw your shoes away because I saw you die in my dream?’” Aman says tiredly.

“Why not? That is exactly what we should be doing Aman,” Goggle says and Aman sees red.

“And have him think that I’m crazy like everyone else does?” Aman scoffs startling Goggle.

“n-no that’s not what I-” Goggle stutters out. Aman notices how scared she is and moves to hug her.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. But it’s just that I’m tired Goggle,” Aman starts when they both pull away from each other.

“I know, Aman. Trust me I know how tired you are,” Goggle says.

“I just want a normal life like everyone else has. I want the social life, I want the love life, and I want everything like everyone else. But all I get is this dream, my insecurities, my mental issues, and my trauma. No one wants to be around me because I push everyone away one way or another. They are scared of me. Everyone thinks that I’m crazy,” Aman says and puts his head in his hands.

“Don’t say that Aman, you’re not normal because you’re unique,” Goggle says trying to help him but she herself knows that none of what she said is true.

“No Goggle, I’m not normal because I’m messed up. Maybe people are right. I’m crazy,” Aman says.

“Stop saying that, once these dreams stop, everything will be normal,” Goggle says.

“It’s been 20 years now. Agar rukna hota toh abhi tak ruk jata,” Aman says defeated. ( _If it had to stop, it would have stopped by now_ )

“But let’s look at it in a different light. Maybe this is a sign? You know, you see Kartik in your dreams, now fate brought you face-to-face with him, maybe your lives are connected somehow?” Goggle starts speaking. It shouldn’t make sense but somehow it does.

“You mean like fated soulmates? You believe in those?” Aman scoffs.

“Look I don’t know what I’m trying to say but that is definitely not what I mean. Argh I don’t know. All I know is soulmates don’t exist,” Goggle says.

“No shit, Sherlock. Anyways, can we just stop talking about this?” Aman asks tired of the conversation.

“But Aman we need to think of a solution for this problem,” Goggle says.

“Can’t we just leave it for another day? I just want to play some bingo and let my mind rest,” Aman says.

“Ok, boomer. Par yaad rakhna, this isn’t over yet,” Goggle says. ( _But remember, this isn’t over yet._ )

“Accha chal ab front pe concentrate karte hai,” Aman says with a fake laugh trying to convince Goggle that he is okay. ( _Okay, let’s concentrate on the front now._ )

In his mind, he is scared. He knows he is the only way to stop whatever is about to happen, but how? He doesn’t know.

_On the other side of the town,_

Kartik downs his 7th or maybe it’s his 8th, he lost the count after the 4th, glass of whiskey. He had a horrible day at work and now he is turning to alcohol to save him from his mind.

“Sir, ab bas karo, yeh 8th tha. You know you shouldn’t be drinking this much,” Rabi says trying to stop Kartik for the sake of his health. ( _Sir, stop now. That was the 8 th._)

“So I was right, this was the 8th one,” Kartik replies giggling as he feels his head spin.

“Yes, that was it. Let’s stop and go home now,” Rabi says.

“Home. Home hi toh nahi ja paraha hu main. Mera ghar woh apartment no. 1402 nahi hai. Mera ghar toh waha hai jaha meri ma, Kusum aur papa hai. Mujhe us ghar jana hai,” Kartik replies with a sad smile. Rabi knew this was coming. Every time Kartik got shitfaced, he would get emotional over his family. ( _Home is the one place I can’t go. Apartment no. 1402 isn’t my home. My home is where my mom, Kusum, and my dad are. I want to go to that home,_ )

_A family that doesn’t care about him,_ Rabi thinks.

“Mein janta hu. Par abhi k liye hum us apartment no. 1402 pe chalte hai, subah hote hi aap ko jaha jana hai, waha jayengay, okay?” Rabi asks. ( _I know. But let’s just go to apartment no. 1402 for now. You can go anywhere you like in the morning._ )

“No, come sit. Let’s talk about it,” Kartik says pulling Rabi on the seat next to him.

“Tujhe pata hai, aaj na mujhe ek offer aaya. They wanted to do a ‘Kartik Singh Special’ episode. It would have been grand. They would do a day in my life, interviews with my family, people I have known over the years and all that good stuff. But I had to let it go,” Kartik says with a bitter laugh. ( _You know, I got an offer today._ )

“Yeah I know. Kyun ki yeh sab maine hi bataya tha aur aapne mujhe hi decline karne k liye kaha tha,” Rabi says rolling his eyes. ( _Because I was the one who told you about it and you were the one who asked me to decline it.)_

“Mujhe decline karna pada kyunki what would they even do in my special? A day in my life would be like, wake up, go to set, keep working till my body gives out, come back, and cry myself to sleep. Interview with my family? Do I even have a family at this point?” Kartik continues ignoring Rabi. ( _I had to decline it because-_ )

Rabi knows it’s better to keep quiet and let Kartik speak because this is the only way Kartik will speak about his feelings. What he does however, is he places a glass of water in Kartik’s hand so he can sober up a little before they go home.

“Now they are planning on giving my special to Mukesh, you know my rival? The media is going to have a field day when the episode airs. Even though I was involved, I will be dragged into this circus. Not as a spectator, but as the main clown,” Kartik says and finally takes a sip of the water.

After a while, Kartik finally shuts up and sobers up a little. Rabi finally gets him to leave the bar and takes him home. Once they get to his apartment building, Kartik tells him that he can go back on his own. Rabi is skeptical but lets Kartik go because he can’t have Kartik lashing out on him when they are in public.

_Back at his apartment,_

Aman is preparing to go to bed when he hears his front door’s lock is making noises as if someone is trying to type in his passcode. He rolls his eyes, and walks over to the front of the house where a small monitor that connects to the CCTV camera on his front door is. What he sees, makes him want to jump off the balcony that is connected to his bedroom.

Kartik Singh is on his front door, trying to type in his passcode. Aman can hear his muttering very clearly.

“0-4-1-2,” Kartik mutters as he types it in.

_Sorry, incorrect password. Last chance to try._ The automated voice in the lock replies.

“Did someone change my passcode? Abe kisne kiya, kamine samne aa, tujhe batata hu,” Kartik says into the air, and Aman realizes that his neighbor is drunk. He gets close to the lock again and types one more time. ( _Who did it? Come out and I’ll show you._ )

_Sorry, incorrect password. You have been blocked._ The voice replies and Kartik looks frustrated.

“Mujhe block kardiya. Ab kya karu?” Kartik pulls on his thinking face and Aman wants to punch him while he pulls the same face. Aman notices when his face lights up. Aman knows he has a stupid idea and slams his head against the wall. ( _I got blocked. What do I do now?)_

“Khulja Sim-Sim,” Kartik yells at the door. Aman is on the verge of tears. He doesn’t know where he signed up for this and he just wants it to stop already.

“Heh, ek bar phir try karta hu. Iss baar thoda zyada feel k saath,” Kartik says and starts shaking as if he is having a seizure and just screams, “Khulja Sim-Sim,” ( _Let me try again, this time with more feeling.)_

Aman has had enough. He marches to his front door and pulls it open. There he sees Kartik with one of his legs raised to the air and with both of his arms spread.

“Aish, khul gaya,” Kartik says with huge grin on his stupid face. _(Aish, it opened)_

“Khula nahi, maine khola hai,” Aman replies annoyed making Kartik notice him standing inside. ( _It didn’t open itself. I opened it._ )

“Hello, stalker. Ab mere ghar ke andar bhi chalegaye? Why are you so obsessed with me?” Kartik asks leaning closer to Aman. _(Now you’re inside my house too?)_

“Kyun ki yeh mera ghar hai, tumhara nahi,” Aman replies. Kartik doesn’t listen to him and just pushes past him. He enters Aman’s apartment and just falls face-first on the couch. Aman looks at him in shock. He goes to where Kartik is lying and shakes him. ( _Because this is my house, not yours.)_

“Abey yeh kya kar raha hai, apne ghar ja,” Aman says but Kartik doesn’t budge. Aman just slaps a hand on his head. (Oi, what are you doing? Go back to your own home.)

_Mummy kaha phas gaya,_ Aman thinks. ( _Mom, why am I stuck here?)_

“Kya karu mein iss aadmi ka,” Aman cries out and tries shaking him again. When Kartik literally doesn’t even move Aman gives up. He knows there is nothing he can do other than let Kartik be. He goes to grab a blanket from his closet and puts it over Kartik to cover him up. ( _What am I supposed to do with this man?_ )

After he sees Kartik is nicely cuddled up into his blanket, he puts a comfortable pillow under his head. He goes back to his room and climbs on the bed. He tries not to think much about the uninvited guest currently sleeping on his couch and just gets into bed.

At around 12:45, he wakes up because of the same dream. He rubs his hands over his face trying to calm himself down. Even though he knows the man is Kartik, he can’t put his face to the man’s and it scares him even more. He decides to go to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and see if Kartik is okay. He walks into the kitchen and fills two glasses of water. He brings both of those to the living room and sees a sight that makes his heart feel a little weird.

Kartik is now sleeping on his back, one of his legs thrown on the head of the couch while the blanket is thrown over his lower body, one of his arms covering his eyes while the other is placed delicately on his belly. Aman thinks the weird feeling in his heart is just anger at seeing the state of his couch. He places the glass of water on the table and goes to his medicine cabinet to grab paracetamol for Kartik’s headache which is inevitable tomorrow.

After that, he goes back to his bed and tries to go back to sleep. But the dream continues to haunt him. Especially now when he knows there is a high chance that the dream might come true. He thinks back at the man who is sleeping on his couch and thinks about how he would not be able to live with himself if anything happens to Kartik when Aman knew there was a way he could help. Aman goes back to sleep trying to think of a way to stop everything.

_What he didn’t know was the things fate had in store for him and Kartik._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thoughts? what do you think is going to be Kartik's reaction in the morning?  
> as always, i love seeing your reactions so please keep them coming.   
> till next time <3


	4. Scene 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As a wise man named Rabi once said that drinking is bad for Kartik's health. but how exactly? well, observe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooo I'm back with another chapter since I completed 1 out of my mountain of assignments  
> so please enjoy!

The first thing Kartik notices the next morning is the feeling that he isn’t on his bed. His fluffy, cloudy feeling bed but rather on a couch that feels like a stone under his back. He lets out a loud groan and tries to open his eyes only to shut them back because of the horrible pain in his head. _Never drinking again._ Kartik promises to himself in his head for like the nth time. Finally gathering enough strength, he opens his eyes.

The first thing he notices is a blurry ceiling, which looks pretty much like the one at his own apartment just slightly different. He may be wrong because his vision is blurry and pays no mind to it, sitting up on the couch. He rubs his eyes, dragging his hand down his face. Finally his vision clears up and he notices that the place he is in doesn’t look like his apartment. The layout is pretty similar but this isn’t his apartment.

“Did someone kidnap me in my own apartment and changed everything? Was I asleep for that long?” Kartik mutters out. His head is still pounding with the pain and all of this is just stressing him out more.

“Maine jitna socha tha, tum use bhi zyada pagal nikle,” Kartik hears someone scoff and looks at the new person in the room. He realizes that the person is his neighbor and gasps out. _(You are crazier than I thought)._

“Tumne mujhe kidnap kiya? Isi liye mera picha kar rahe the? Kya chahiye tumhe? Kitne paise?” Kartik asks terrified. _(You are the one who kidnapped me? Is that why you were following me? What do you want? How much money?)_

“Mujhe baas shanti chahiye,” Aman replies crossing his arms over his chest, nearly done with this stupid human being. _(I just need quiet)._

“Shanti? Woh actress? Thik hai mein baat karta hu use, pehele mujhe jane toh do,” Kartik replies and Aman just wants to throw this man off the balcony. _(Shanti? The actress? Okay I’ll talk to her but let me go first)._

“Abey saale, shanti as in peace, silence. Actress nahi. Yeh sab film wale aise hi hote hai kya?” Aman asks. _(You idiot, shanti as in peace, silence. Not the actress. Are you all film people like this?)_

“Oh tumhara woh matlab tha. I’m sorry,” Kartik says and stays quiet for a moment. Aman is just about to thank all the gods in the universe when Kartik speaks up again, “agar tumhe shanti hi chahiye toh mujhe kidnap kyun kiya?” _(Oh, that is what you meant, I’m sorry)(But if you needed silence, why did you kidnap me?)_

_Control, Aman. You can’t end up in jail right now._ Aman tries to calm himself down.

“Lagta hai kidnapping ka course karna chahiye tumhe. According to kidnapping 101, koi bhi kidnapper apne victim ko open nahi rakhta hai, yah toh haath paer band ke, yah toh muh pe paati band ke. Kidnapping toh sahi se kar lete,” Kartik continues rambling and Aman is seriously considering taping his mouth shut. _(I think you should do a course in kidnapping. According to kidnapping 101, no kidnapper leaves his victim free. Either they tie them up or tape their mouth shut. The least you can do is try to be a better kidnapper)._

“Mere bhai, tu do second chup rehene ka kya lega?” Aman asks in the fakest sweet voice he can. _(My brother, what will you take to keep quiet for 2 seconds?)_

“Aazadi,” Kartik replies in a very filmy way and is about to start another monologue. But before he can open his mouth to speak, Aman runs over to him and grabs the paracetamol offering it to Kartik. _(Freedom)_

“Pehele ye le, phir aaram se baith ke soch ki tu yaha kaise aaya. Tab tak main breakfast prepare karta hu,” Aman replies with a fake smile and runs into the kitchen to get started on breakfast. _(Take this first, then sit and think about how you ended up here. I’ll work on the breakfast till then)_

Meanwhile, Kartik stands there confused at this kidnapper’s behavior. He just shrugs and takes the paracetamol because his head is seriously killing him. After he takes the medicine, he begins to recount yesterday’s events.

_I went out drinking. I drank one glass. Then another. And another. And another. Rabi told me to stop. But I didn’t listen hehe. And another. And another. And guess what? Another! Okay, another. Rabi asked me to stop. I started ranting. Why, Kartik, why? I came home. I tried to unlock the door but some idiot changed my passcode. I need to find that asshole too. Then he opens the door and says it’s his apartment. Shit, it’s his apartment. OH SHIT, IT’S HIS APARTMENT._

“Oh my god, oh shit, I’m so- why am I here and not there?” Kartik says and runs into the kitchen. “I just had a realiz-” The sight that greets him makes him feel a little weird. There is his neighbor, his sweet amazing neighbor, in a hello kitty apron, flipping pancakes. For him. His neighbor looks up at him and just waits. Kartik forgot what he even came for.

“Nice apron heh,” Kartik replies and gives him a tight smile.

“Is that what you came here for? You were saying something about a realization?” He asks.

“A realiza- what oh yeah. This is your apartment. I came here drunk. That’s my realization,” Kartik says.

“Is that it?” he looks at Kartik giving him a ‘are you serious?’ look.

“Yeah? What else could ther- _oh._ I’m sorry?” Kartik says but it comes out like a question instead. His neighbor just looks up and glares at the ceiling.

“Don’t bother, just grab a seat. I’ll bring it over,” he says and Kartik sits on the dining table. The man brings him his breakfast along with some syrup and a can of whipped cream.

“Thank you…… um I’m not very good with na-”

“Aman. Aman Tripathi,”

“Yeah Aman. Thank you Aman,” Kartik says and gives the man, _Aman_ , a genuine smile and starts on his breakfast. As he takes his first bite, his phone starts ringing. He pulls it out of his pocket and sees Devika’s name on the screen. He picks up the calls but before he can say anything, he hears,

“Half an hour, that’s how long I have been waiting outside your apartment. Where are you?”

“Um I’m having breakfast at my neighbor’s?” Kartik replies.

“Well I’ll see you in the next ten minutes and I want an explanation for last night,” Devika replies, and Kartik notices that she sounds mad at him. Before he can say anything else, she hangs up. _Rabi that traitor._

“Sorry about that, but I need to leave. Thank you for the lovely breakfast,” Kartik says and gets up from the chair.

“Don’t worry. Just don’t let this happen again,” Aman replies with a curt nod and leads him out of the apartment.

Once outside, Kartik notices that Devika is standing next to his door with her arms crossed on her chest with a neutral expression on her face. Kartik gives her a sheepish smile in return and opens the door to his apartment

“Kartik, how many times do we have to tell you to stop drinking? Haven’t you had enough of the hospital trips?” Devika says after Kartik tells her everything that happened last night.

“It hasn’t happened in years Devi, chill out,” Kartik replies and leans his head on the back of the sofa he is currently sitting (read: melting) on.

“Chill out is the last thing I can do while I have you as a friend,” Devika replies.

_A few nights later,_

Aman wakes up from the same dream. His body feels sweaty, he is breathing heavily and he has tears in his eyes. He somehow manages to calm himself down and become aware of his surroundings. He notices that there are noises coming from Kartik’s apartment and just chooses to ignore it knowing that his neighbor is an insomniac. He only begins to worry when the noises come closer and it sounds like the man is crying.

“n-no, don’t you dare call my mom or even Devi. They’ll kill me,” he can make out from the sounds.

“Don’t worry, I can get there on my own, it has happened before,” he can hear and he is starting to worry now. For a while he doesn’t hear anything from the other side so he assumes that Kartik probably went to sleep or something. He is just getting up from his bed when he hears things fall down and a loud groan comes from the other side.

“I need to look good, I’m a star. A star at his prime. My hospital fashion needs to be up to the mark,” He can hear and he concludes that his neighbor has officially lost his goddamn mind.

“Ah shit this hurts so bad,” He can hear. He connects the dots and realizes that Kartik is probably sick and needs to go to the hospital.

_But why do I care? It’s not like I’m his family member._ Aman thinks. He thinks of going back to sleep but the noises on the other side don’t let him.

Aman opens the door to his apartment at the same time as Kartik does. Kartik notices Aman step out of his apartment and fixes his posture.

“Excuse me, are you going somewhere?” Kartik asks.

“Yeah, I’m going to the market,” Aman replies looking at his neighbor and sees him all fancy dressed up as if he is going to a party and not the hospital.

“At 2 in the morning?” Kartik asks suspiciously. Aman realizes that this is not an ideal time for someone to be going out to the market.

“I couldn’t sleep so I decided to go to that market near the hospital, they have some fresh goods there,” Aman replies hoping that Kartik will catch the hint.

“Oh can you, perhaps, give me a lift?” Kartik asks.

“Oh um sure, where are you headed to?” Aman asks as if he hadn’t been eavesdropping.

“The hospital,” Kartik replies.

_At the hospital,_

The nurses are surrounding Kartik, getting his vitals, and putting an IV in his vein. Kartik is silently crying in pain trying his hardest to not let his pain show.

“Sister, could you give him a pain relief first?” Aman asks and wipes the tear that made its way to Kartik’s cheek.

“Sir, we need to do our diagnosis before we can give him anything,” the nurse replies.

“But he is in pain, at least to do something to stop that,” Aman replies in frustration.

“Can you please just let us do our work? Who are you, by the way? Are you a family member?”

“I’m his-”

“My manager. He is my manager,” Kartik replies in a weak voice.

“Your what?” Aman replies and if he wasn’t so worried about him, he would take one of the equipment from the nurses’ station and just end it all. Kartik pulls him down so that his ear is near Kartik’s mouth and whispers, “try to understand. The media will lose its shit when they find out that Kartik Singh, the LGBT icon of the decade, came to the hospital at 2 in the morning with a man,” Aman sees the point in Kartik’s words and just decides to take a rest while the nurses carry out their diagnosis.

After a few hours of waiting, they determine that Kartik is suffering from pancreatitis due to the heavy drinking he had been doing for the past few months. They inform Aman that Kartik needs to be admitted to the hospital and kept under observation. Aman goes and carries out all the procedures for the admission and Kartik is taken to the cabin where he’ll be staying.

Once Aman returns from the reception, he sees that Kartik is on the verge of falling asleep. He walks over to him and Kartik says, “I was waiting for you,” in a weak voice. Aman’s heart breaks hearing the once cheerful man speak in the way he is doing right now.

“I’m here now, go to sleep,” Aman whispers softly.

“You won’t leave right?” Kartik asks. Aman hesitates because he has his own responsibilities to deal with. But looking at the tear-stained face and the pain weak body of Kartik, he decides to put his responsibilities aside.

“I won’t,” Aman whispers, and Kartik gives him a soft smile, falling asleep immediately.

The next day brings a lot of chaos for the two. The doctors come in and Kartik gets a good scolding from the senior doctor for not taking better care of himself even though he has been suffering from this since he was a teenager. Kartik apologies sheepishly and promises to take more care of himself.

By the afternoon, the news of Kartik being hospitalized has leaked into the media and a lot of reporters are waiting downstairs trying to get pictures or videos of Kartik or his family. This news is also heard by one woman who just so happens to be Kartik’s mother. And she is pissed to say the least. Or that is what Aman thinks when the woman marches inside his hospital room in the late afternoon.

“Now I have to learn about my son’s hospitalization from the news,” the woman says once she reaches to Kartik’s bedside.

“Don’t say it like that. Makes it sound like you care,” Kartik says.

“I get that you hate me, but I’m your mother. If you didn’t want to call me, you could have at least called your sister,” Kartik’s mom says and Aman feels awkward being there in the middle of a family discussion.

“Like she cares. If she did, she would be here right now,” Kartik scoffs.

“She isn’t here because she hasn’t been home for the last two weeks,” His mom replies.

“Two weeks?” Kartik yells out and Aman immediately walks over to his side trying to calm him down. The stress will make his pain worse.

“Kartik, stop stressing. You’ll make it worse,” his mother says and Aman looks at the woman in disbelief. He keeps his mouth shut because he doesn’t want to get involved in the family business.

“Can you please leave me alone?” Kartik says in a soft voice.

“I’m your-” his mother starts but Kartik just raises his hand motioning her to stop. She stomps her feet and leaves the hospital room. Aman decides to leave too but Kartik’s voice stops him.

“You’ll come back right?”

“Give me a call when you need me,” Aman replies and grabs a piece of paper. He writes down his number and leaves it on Kartik’s bedside.

_Five days later,_

Kartik is all set to leave the hospital room. Aman told him that he couldn’t afford to miss another day at work so Kartik let him go. Rabi, who went to visit his parents, came back yesterday and is now helping him change out of the very ugly hospital clothing. He puts on the same pair of clothes that he wore to the hospital. The only thing missing is his shoes. He clearly remembers wearing his favorite black shoes with the golden detailing (the person who made those shoes told him that it was only one pair in the whole country) to the hospital. When he asks the nurses about the shoes they tell him that the clothes and the shoes were handed over to his manager. _Manager Aman Tripathi._

He decides to call him and ask where his shoes are but he remembers that Aman was probably having classes. He decides to open up Whatsapp and send him a message there but notices that Aman doesn’t have a Whatsapp account. _This man is so strange._ Kartik thinks and decides to pay him a visit.

“Okay, first things first, why don’t you have a Whatsapp account?” Kartik asks Aman who stares at him in confusion. When Kartik called him to tell him that he wants to meet him as soon as possible, he sounded extremely angry. But the question genuinely surprises him. He pulls out his phone and shows it to Kartik.

“I don’t think anyone can use Whatsapp in this,”

“A FLIP PHONE? IN 2020? Have you? Are you okay?” Kartik screams in frustration.

“I guess yeah? Why are you asking that?” Aman says. As time is passing, Aman’s confusion is growing.

“What even- okay let it go. Second question, why did you steal my shoes?” Kartik asks. Aman finally understands the reason why Kartik sounds so mad. Aman thinks back at the shoes which are safely kept in his shoe cabinet and lies, “I didn’t steal your shoes, I helped you,” _in more ways than you think._

“Help? Don’t try to divert the topic here. My shoes, where are they?” Kartik asks.

“I don’t know. I didn’t steal your goddamn shoes,” Aman replies.

“Can I believe you? Okay I guess I will. But I swear, if I find out that you are the one who took my shoes, I swear to god, I’ll end your life,” Kartik says in an angry voice and walks out of there.

_This is exactly why I don’t like helping people._ Aman thinks but the anger he feels for Kartik is washed out by the relief of stopping his dream from becoming a reality. _Finally, I can live in peace. God I hope I never have to interact with that again._

_But there is a rule of the universe, you can never change whatever destiny has in store for you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so thoughts?   
> and yes pancreatitis is an actual disease that can happen due to excessive drinking but there are other reasons for it as well. 
> 
> anyways, please let me know your thoughts on this chapter and the entire fic till now  
> see you all the next time! <3


	5. Scene 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aman's dream is only a step away from becoming a reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hi, its your local bored author coming at you with another chapter.   
> pleathe enjoy!

“So then I was like, my hospital fashion sense needs to be good. No matter how horrible I feel on the inside, I need to look pretty on the outside,” Kartik mutters out as he feels the face pack drying on his skin.

“Oh my god, the pictures they released of you in the hospital were so good looking. Your skin was literally glowing. Tell us your secret,” the woman currently working on his nails comments.

“Oh it’s just a lot of happiness. And water, water is always important,” Kartik mutters out again.

He is at the beauty salon currently. He needs to start shooting for his new movie from tomorrow and he needs to get his skin to look the best it can. According to the script, he has to play the role of a rich heir who just came back from America after completing his high school education so he needs to look good for that part. And after his last movie, which was an action thriller, his skin was about to give out and the hospital trip just added to the stress on his beautifully soft skin.

After he is done, he goes to the counter to pay for his services. As he is talking to the receptionist, someone comes and stands next to him. When he looks to see who it is, he is surprised to see _Mukesh Fucking Mehra_ standing next to him. _Out of all the days this could have happened, I had to face my rival today. Why can’t I just have one good day?_ Kartik thinks and decides to ignore him in favor of not ruining his mood.

“Oh look who’s here, my childhood friend, Kartik,” Mehra says in a fake sweet voice.

“Childhood friend? I don’t think I remember you. But I guess I don’t remember all of the trash cans I walked by in my childhood,” Kartik replies in that same sweet tone.

“Trash can? That’s cute. At least I’m a trash can who has a special episode on the national TV. What about you?” Mukesh says.

“A special I rejected. I don’t think you should forget that” Kartik replies.

“But why did you reject it? Oh I know, poor baby Kartik probably has no one to talk good about him, huh?” Mukesh taunts Kartik and Kartik sees red.

“Listen here you little piece of shit, you keep my family out of this or I’ll kill you,” Kartik says.

“Aww you’ll kill me? Trust me I already died seeing you act. Dude you’re horrible” Mukesh says and smirks as if he just said the best joke in the history of jokes.

“Oh so I’m horrible? You should learn how to act better first then come at me, your last movie didn’t even recover the budget, and who do you think is the problem? You or your horrible acting?” Kartik replies trying to taunt him.

“You don’t teach me how to act okay? Box office numbers don’t determine everything,” Mukesh says defensively.

“Oh and what was the rating for it? 2 stars? Out of what? 10?” Kartik pretends to think.

“You little-”

“And how much did my last movie get? Hmm, 8.3 stars and 100 crores at the box office,” Kartik says and gives him a fake smile. Mukesh scoffs and glares at him. Just as he is about to throw another taunt at Kartik, Kartik decides to shut him up and end the conversation.

“Truth hurts, honey. You have a good day,” Kartik says and pats Mukesh on the back. He pulls on his sunglasses and walks out of there.

Once he gets to where his assistant and his manager are waiting with the car, he gets inside and breaks down. He pulls off his sunglasses to reveal his teary eyes to his assistant and his manager. The tears he had been holding in start falling and he doesn’t try to stop himself. He just puts his head in his hands and cries until his heart feels a little lighter. Once he is done, he wipes his eyes and notices that they are still in the parking lot and that both of them are looking at him, concern clear in their eyes.

“Don’t worry guys, it’s a downside of being in the public eye. What’s next in the schedule for the day?” Kartik asks trying to be cheerful to lighten up the mood.

“We are done for the day,” Rabi replies and gestures the driver to start the car. “Do you want to talk about what happened?” Rabi asks when they are on the road.

“Remember how I said ‘I will be dragged into this circus not as a spectator but as the main clown?’ well let’s just say I went for a rehearsal session, you’ll see the results in the media soon,” Kartik replies with a laugh. Both of them look at him with sad smiles on their faces knowing very well that they can’t do anything about it unless Kartik’s management team takes action. They decide to not dwell on it much and change the topic.

“Oh by the way, the shoes you ordered? They are here, they didn’t have your size so we had to get a size bigger,” Rabi replies and his assistant hands him the shoe box. He opens it up and sees the shoes, his favorite black shoes with golden details that he had to order in an emergency for his friend’s wedding party. He pulls them out and sees that they are indeed a size bigger than what he normally wears. He decides to text the shoe stealer also known as his neighbor, Aman Tripathi, about getting new shoes.

_Me: got new shoes, you can keep the ones you stole, it’s yours now._

_The next day,_

Kartik walks out of his trailer when his director informs him that his co-stars have arrived. He walks over to where all of them are gathered having a chat.

“Hello everyone, I’m Kartik,” Kartik introduces himself and everyone turns to face him. They all give him a smile and a wave. Each of them starts introducing themselves.

“I’m Shanti Priya, it’s really nice to see the man I’m supposed to be romancing,” she replies with a giggle.

“Well, I’m glad that we got to see each other before we get into those dynamics,” Kartik replies with a laugh. They all start having a conversation and Kartik’s mind goes back to the interaction he had with his neighbor the morning after he showed up drunk at his apartment. He laughs out loud when he remembers how he asked the poor man if he wanted his current co-star which causes everyone to look at him weirdly. He just waves them off.

_Why am I thinking about him right now?_ Kartik thinks.

He pulls out his phone to see if Aman replied to the text that he sent yesterday about his shoes and sees that Aman hasn’t. He feels a little disappointed but he just ignores it. _That boomer probably doesn’t know how to reply to text messages._ Kartik thinks in his head.

After that, the director calls them and they start rehearsing some of the scenes from the movie they are shooting. The director wants all of them to get comfortable with each other before they start shooting the movie so that the movie looks authentic and none of the scenes among the actors looked forced.

After the day is over, they all start discussing about who is going to the wedding party tomorrow and Kartik learns that most of his co-stars will be at the party. They all decide to meet up at the party and get a picture taken for the media so that it’ll create a hype around the movie. Everyone decides that it’ll be good for the PR and agree.

_Kartik has a party to attend tomorrow._

_The next night,_

“Google, ab tu hi bata main kya karu,” Aman says as he is sitting on the living room sofa after dinner, talking to his cousin. He has been restless since he got Kartik’s text two days ago. He has left the message on seen because he doesn’t know how to reply to that text. ( _Goggle, now you tell me what I should do.)_

“Tu use sab sach sach bata de, iske alawa mere paas aur koi solution nahi hai,” Goggle replies through the phone. _(Just tell him the truth, I don’t have any other solution.)_

“Wohi toh nahi karparaha hu main. Aur batau bhi kya? Ki maine use apne saapne me maarte hue dekha hai? Tu hi soch koi manega iss baat ko?” Aman asks frustrated with everything that has been happening in his life. _(That is exactly what I can’t do. And what would I even tell him? That I saw him die in my dream? Do you think anyone will believe it?)_

“Aur koi raasta bhi toh-” Goggle stops mid-way and lets out a loud gasp. _(There is no other way-)_

“Kya huwa Goggle, tu thik toh hai na?” Aman asks in a panicked voice. He gets up from his couch and is about to make a run for it when Goggle’s scared voice comes through the phone. _(What’s wrong Goggle? Are you okay?)_

“News channel,” is all she says and Aman goes to the news channel on his TV.

_‘Today is the wedding of everyone’s favorite celebrity couple, Kabir Dhaliwal and Khalid Rahmani. Most of the A-listers are here tonight to celebrate this occasion with the two lovebirds. We have already welcomed a bunch of celebrities who are here tonight. The next guest arriving at the party is none other than Kartik Singh!’_

Aman can hear from the tv. When he looks up, he sees Kartik. Decked up in a glittery silver coat, white shirt with a black bow tie and black pants. _He looks good I guess, I don’t know why Goggle was so scared. Oh maybe she saw something else._ Aman thinks and he is just about to change the channel when the camera pans down to show Kartik’s shoes, _the same fucking black shoes with the golden detailing that doesn’t seem to leave Aman alone._

Aman loses his grip on the remote and drops it. Hearing the noise, Goggle, who was on the other side of the phone starts calling out Aman. But Aman is too far gone in his head.

_The black pants._

_The black shoes._

_My dream._

_But wait he’s at a wedding party. They don’t have a wedding party on a cruise right?_ Aman is just about to sigh out in relief when the TV reporter starts his reporting again.

_‘The couple decided to have a cruise wedding as the pair also met each other on the same cruise a few years ago. A full circle, how beautiful is that? Right my lovely viewers? Their love story is one of a kind, from meeting at the cruise to ending up working in the same movie together-’_

_Yeah no, Kartik is Dying with a capital D. These film people are actually crazy._

“Goggle,” Aman breathes out as he watches Kartik walk into the cruise.

“It’s too late now,” Goggle replies.

“I should have- I could G-goggle, I know, I could have I don-” Aman can’t form a proper sentence. He is terrified of what’s going to happen to Kartik now.

“Wait, there’s a way,” Goggle says.

“What do you mean?” Aman asks.

“Listen to me very carefully,” Goggles starts and briefs Aman on the plan.

“We have to work fast,” Aman says and takes a deep breath. He gets up from the couch and grabs his car keys, leaving his apartment.

_This is my last chance at saving him and not making my dream a reality._

_A few hours after midnight,_

She is woken up by a call on her phone.

“Hello,” she mumbles out sleepily and doesn’t bother looking at the caller ID.

“i-I don’t know how i-it happened but i-I didn’t intend o-on it,” she hears the person on the other side stammer out in panic.

“Wait, calm down and speak slowly, what happened?” She asks trying to calm them down.

“We had a fight and I pushed him off,” they reply in a heavy voice.

“Where did you push him off of?” she asks scared.

“I pushed him off the cruise. I swear I didn’t mean to but he was pushing my limits and I couldn’t control it,” the person on the other side replies and starts sobbing loudly.

“What do you even mean by ‘I couldn’t control it’? Fuck,” she replies and grabs a fistful of her hair, pulling on it.

_As said before, you can’t change what destiny has in store for you. Whatever is fated, will happen._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, thoughts? theories?   
> who do you think were the two people having the final conversation? who died?   
> I would love to know your views on this chapter, so tell me!
> 
> or you can always come and talk to me on twitter, its @manpashikjeok_  
> till next time!


	6. Scene 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where exactly is Kartik? What happened on the night of the party?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, I was supposed to wait till Friday to post this chapter but we all have already established that I'm not a patient person so please enjoy!   
> I hope this clears none of your confusion but leaves you more confused!

“Hello Rabi, do you know where Kartik is?” Devika says into the phone, stressed out of her mind.

“No, none of us know where he is,” Rabi replies, as stressed as Devika is at the moment.

“I have been calling his phone for hours now, but it says it’s switched off,” Devika replies nearly on the verge of tears. The TV is playing in the background and the news report is reporting the latest story.

_‘We are here at the crime scene. This morning, some pedestrians saw a body like a figure floating in the water behind me and called the police immediately. The police got the body out of the water and are now trying to contact the victim’s family. The police have gathered that the victim was in attendance at last night’s cruise wedding of superstars Kabir Dhaliwal and Khalid Rahmani. They determined that the cause of death is drowning but was it a murder or a suicide? Well, additional investigation will decide. Till now we have no reports of who the victim is. But we will report as soon as we can so please stay tuned with us,’_

“What are these news channels even saying? Oh my god I’m so scared, Rabi please give me something, anything please,” Devika cries into the phone.

“You were at the party last night Devi di, please can you tell us anything that was suspicious?”

“I guess, let me just think,” Devika tries to think back.

_The night of the party,_

“Kabir, Khalid, congratulations on this,” Devika says and hugs the both of them tight.

“Thank you so much for coming, Devi. Is Kartik here yet?” Khalid asks, looking for Kartik.

“I’m his best friend, not his assistant,” Devika replies with a laugh. “But yeah I did see him coming,”

“Cool, cool,” Khalid says and takes a deep breath.

“Why, is there something wrong?” Devika asks sensing that something is stressing him out.

“Um you know how Kabir and Mukesh were co-stars in his last movie?” Khalid asks and Devika already knows where this is going.

“Don’t tell me Kabir invited Mukesh to this party,” Devika pleads to Khalid and all she gets in response is Khalid lowering his head. Devika knows she shouldn’t be saying anything as this is their day and they should be allowed to invite whoever they want. And that is exactly what she says to Khalid.

“Don’t worry about Kartik, I’ll handle him,” Devika says and pats Khalid on the back.

“MY BOYS! CONGRATS,” Kartik yells as he enters the room where both the grooms and the guests are.

“Thank you, Kartik,” Khalid says and Kartik hugs the both of them and moves to stand next to Devika. Just when Devika is about to tell Kartik about the guest who Kartik might not be fond of, the guest enters the room.

“Kabir, Khalid, congratulations on your big day,” Mukesh says. He too hugs the both of them and hands them a bouquet of flowers.

“What is he doing here? And are those- where did you get those shoes from?” Kartik says as he is staring down at Mukesh’s shoes.

“What do you mean? The maker told me that- wait what? DID WE JUST GET SCAMMED?” Mukesh yells when he notices that Kartik is wearing the same shoes as him. _The black shoes with golden details._

“I’m going to sue that bitch,” Kartik says and pulls out his phone.

“Calm down, Kartik. Enjoy the wedding today,” Devika says gripping Kartik’s arm to calm him down.

Kartik just glares at Mukesh and fumes.

“Okay, picture time,” the poor photographer says scared.

Kartik stands next to Khalid and Mukesh moves to stand next to Kabir. The photographer takes the first picture.

“Okay let’s get another, the flash made me close my eyes,” Mukesh says and Kartik glares at him. He takes off his bowtie and unbuttons two of the top buttons on his shirt, showing off his chest a little. Mukesh looks at him with his eyes.

“Now, take the picture,” Kartik says and poses. The photographer who was ready and just listening click the pictures. After that, Mukesh places his hand on his head and starts flexing his biceps. He motions the photographer to continue taking the picture. Kartik seeing that and places both his hands on his waist and stands in a position that enunciates his chest and his butt.

“Okay can you guys stop this now?” Kabir asks and everyone agrees with him. Kartik and Mukesh continue glaring at each other.

“Yeah, the cruise is about to start moving so you guys might want to take your places and let the ceremony start,” Khalid says and all the guests slowly start making their way outside.

Once outside, the guests all start grabbing their seats. Devika and Kartik sit on their reserved table and wait for the dinner to start serving. They make small conversations about things and Devika resists the urge to beat Kartik up for not telling her about his trip to the hospital. But Devika is glad that someone was there to help her best friend.

The servers start bringing drinks to the tables and Kartik immediately downs his first glass of wine. Devika warns him that he isn’t allowed to get shitfaced but she’ll allow him to drink a little because she knows Kartik needs the strength to deal with Mukesh. Slowly the dinner starts and the waiters start serving the tables, when they finally get to their table the dinner is placed and just as they are about to leave, Kartik speaks up,

“Excuse me, do you guys have fresh seafood? You know it’s like my favorite thing in the whole world and we are also at the sea so?” Everyone just looks at Kartik weirdly.

“Why are you all staring me like that? Did I say something wrong?” Kartik asks and looks around confused.

“Just because we’re at the sea doesn’t mean someone is out there fishing and getting fresh seafood,” one the servers’ replies and Devika is very embarrassed sitting there. She just gives the servers an awkward smile in return.

“Okay. I’ll just have whatever this is. Thank you,” Kartik says to the servers and they all look as if they want to throw him off the cruise and into the river. And honestly if Kartik wasn’t her best friend, she would do the same to him.

Kartik excuses himself after the dinner and Devika gets informed that the married couple has one more ceremony they’d like everyone to be a part of before the fireworks show starts. Devika looks around for Kartik and spots him coming out of the restroom with a confused look on his face.

“Is everything okay Kartik?” Devika says which seems to snap Kartik out of his daze.

“Yeah, everything is good. Maybe I’m just overthinking. Anyways, is the fireworks show about to start?” Kartik asks and grabs a glass of martini from the tray that was sitting next to them. Devika glares at him but he just waves her off.

“No, they want to do the whole ‘bride throws the bouquet and whoever catches it is the next one to get married’ thing that white people do,” Devika says.

“Let me guess, it was Khalid’s idea,” Kartik says and Devika nods with a laugh.

The two make their way inside the room where the photographs were being taken earlier. They see that Khalid is in the middle of the room and everyone is surrounding him. He gives everyone a smile and waves. The announcer announces that the ceremony is about to start and everyone gets ready. Khalid throws the bouquet towards the back, everyone watches as at lands, _straight down on Shanti Priya’s legs._

Khalid turns around to see who caught the bouquet and is disappointed to see that no one caught it. He looks at Kabir and pouts but Kabir just laughs it off. Everyone starts laughing at the cute interaction. Meanwhile, Mukesh bends down in front of Shanti and picks up the bouquet. He holds it out to Shanti and says, “It’s a custom, we shouldn’t disrespect it,”

Devika looks at Kartik who is watching the interaction with a shocked look on his face. Devika shakes him and asks if something is wrong with him but Kartik says that everything is okay and walks out of the room. Devika follows him and sees that he downs another glass of whiskey. Everyone starts coming out of the room and starts going around mingling with everyone.

Devika and Kartik go back to their table and start talking again.

“You told me Kusum hasn’t been home for two weeks, or maybe more now. Did you talk to her?” Devika asks and takes a sip of her water.

“I called her. But can we not discuss this right now?” Kartik says not wanting to cry at someone else’s wedding.

“Kartik, these are the only times we get to talk. You always cut me off and never tell me anything about your life. So yes we are having this conversation right now,” Devika says sternly.

“God, okay. We had a conversation. All she said was that she doesn’t want to live in a place where I send the money. She doesn’t want to be like ma and depend on me,” Kartik replies in a sad tone.

“But she is a high schooler, what will she even do?” Devika asks.

“I don’t know. I just want the best for her,” Kartik says and tries to hold in the tears that are threatening to fall.

“Anything else? Like about your hospital trip or anything?” Devika asks and rubs Kartik’s back.

“She said to take better care of myself. She wanted to visit but she didn’t want to be included in the media circus. She said she’ll come and visit me once everything cools down,” Kartik says.

“At least you know she cares about you,” Devika says with a smile.

“Yeah I guess I can live with that,” Kartik replies. Before Devika can say anything, a bunch of people make their way towards their table.

“Kartik, come on, it’s the cast photoshoot time,” one of the men from the group says. Devika looks at Kartik confused.

“We thought it would be good PR for us and our upcoming movie if we get a few pictures of the cast at the wedding,” Kartik explains and gets up to leave, “you’ll be good, right?” he asks before he leaves. Devika gives him a smile and a nod. Kartik returns her smile and leaves with the group.

As she is waiting for Kartik to return, she notices that the fireworks show has started, everyone gathers around the deck and starts taking pictures of the sky. When she looks around to see if Kartik has returned from the photoshoot, she spots him on the upper part of the cruise near the end with another drink in hand. She decides that she wants to enjoy the party and not babysit this adult baby of a best friend that she has and goes back to enjoying the fireworks show.

The cruise moves as a wave passes by. Everyone tries to balance themselves. Once everything is calm, Devika looks at the place where Kartik previously was and sees that he is not there anymore. _The idiot probably realized that standing at the end is not a good idea and moved away._ She thinks with a laugh and continues enjoying the show.

After the entire wedding is done, everyone is brought back to the place where they were picked up from. Everyone waves goodbye to the couple who get off the cruise first and get inside the car to take them to the airport so they could go to their honeymoon destination. Devika walks over to her car and gestures at the driver to take her back home. She decides to call Kartik to let him know that she has left. When he doesn’t pick up, she leaves him a text.

_Me: Hey sweetheart, you really need to stop drinking so much. But I just wanted to let you know that I have left the party._

_Me: get home safe and CALL ME ASAP_

_Me: love you x_

Devika locks her phone and leans her head on the window watching the city pass by as she goes back home.

_Back to the present day,_

“That is all that happened at the party,”

“Wait I’m getting a call from someone else,” Rabi says and puts her on hold. She starts chewing on her lips nervously.

 _‘The police have finally revealed the identity of the victim’_ the news reporter on the TV says.

“Devi di, we found him,” Rabi says.

“Where, where is he? Please tell me he is safe,” Devika cries into the phone.

_‘We are very sad to report that the victim is actor……’_

“In the cruise, he was in one of the rooms, fast asleep,” Rabi says and Devika sighs out in relief.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Devika says and hangs up. She grabs her coat and keys running out of her house.

_‘…….. Mukesh Mehra.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof so, thoughts? did you get your answers? or even you even more confused?   
> also I loved your reactions to the last chapter so please keep em coming. they really motivate me to write more.   
> also, pssst click on that next chapter button, I have a surprise for you <3


	7. Interlude: Kartik's Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kartik has a dream, or is it really a dream?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a small surprise for everyone <3  
> (make sure to read the chapter before this though!)

_Kartik feels as if he is being placed on a cloud. He opens his eyes to see his neighbor slightly on top of him._

_“So I have been thinking so much about you that now you’re coming in my dreams too,” Kartik says with a soft smile._

_Aman just looks at him with his eyes wide and tries to pull his arms from under Kartik’s head._

_“I think I should just listen to everyone and get married. I’m having dirty dreams at the age of 30,” Kartik speaks up again. Just as Aman is about to reply, Kartik places a finger on his lips to shut him up._

_“Now that you are here already, I might as well do this,” Kartik speaks softly._

_He loops his arms around Aman’s neck and pulls him down. He stares into Aman’s wide eyes and just gives him a soft smile before pressing his lips against Aman’s._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay oof would you guys be down for more interludes like this in the later chapters?   
> please let me know. 
> 
> twitter: @manpashikjeok_


	8. Scene 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to deal with the Media circus, Kartik Singh style part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hello welcome everyone.   
> this is a v fluffy chapter to make up for the last two disasters I put you guys through  
> so pleathe enjoyth

“Okay squad, the detective working for the Mukesh Mehra case will be here soon,” the lead officer says and all the other officers groan out.

“We haven’t even started and you guys are already tired?” they hear a female’s voice come from the door.

“Wait, aren’t you that actress-”

“Shanti Priya? No. her twin sister? Yes. Detective Sandy here. I’ll be working on the Mukesh Mehra case with you,” she says.

“Welcome to the office ma’am,” one of the men replies. “I’m your assistant detective, Om,” he introduces himself.

“Nice to meet you, shall we get to it?” Sandy says and grabs the case file.

“Well to summarize till now, it looks like it’s a case of suicide but there are still many doubts,” Om starts with the brief.

“What doubts?” Sandy asks looking at him for clarification.

“First of all, there is no logical explanation for an actor to commit suicide in an environment like that. Moreover, there are no mentions of a suicide note or something,”

“Are you saying that it is a murder?” Sandy asks looking at him.

“I can’t say anything till we investigate any further. But from what I have heard, people think Kartik Singh had a hand in it,”

“Well, let’s not jump to conclusions and get started with the investigation,” Sandy says and Om nods.

_Meanwhile,_

Kartik wakes up to the sound of his phone vibrating. He pulls the eye mask he often wears to sleep off his eyes and picks up his phone from the bedside table. He looks at the caller id and sees its Rabi who’s ringing him. He answers the call with a groggy hello.

“Quick, you need to leave your apartment,” Rabi says without any kind of greeting.

“What do you mean I need to leave my apartment?” Kartik asks getting up from his bed and running towards his closet.

“There is a huge group of reporters who are trying to get to your apartment for an interview,” Rabi replies.

“What? Why? Did I do something again?” Kartik asks and pulls on whatever is the first thing he finds in his closet.

“I’ll explain it when we meet, we are waiting in a car downstairs, please use the backdoor,” Rabi says and Kartik runs out of his apartment.

“No stop go back to your apartment,” Rabi says.

“What the actual hell is going on? Can you fucking explain before I do this unnecessary workout?” Kartik asks and runs back to his apartment door. “Wait, what’s my passcode?” Kartik asks.

“You changed it after you moved in I don’t know,” Rabi replies.

“What kind of a manager are you that you don’t even remember- okay calm down Kartik,” Kartik yells into the phone.

“Are you in yet? The reporters are inside the elevator,” Rabi yells back. Kartik is about to kick the door open when his neighbor opens up his door and walks outside. Kartik runs to him and grabs him by the waist, pulling him inside and locking the door.

“Abey, yeh kya kar raha hai tu?” Aman asks shocked. ( _Oi, what are you doing?)_

“Reporters,” is all Kartik replies. He looks at his neighbor who looks like he is about to murder him and realizes that he is still holding him. Kartik jumps away from him and says, “mujhe nahi pata kya chal raha hai, par apparently niche bahot saare reporters hai jo mera interview lena chahate hai,” ( _I don’t know what’s happening, but apparently there are a bunch of reporters downstairs who are waiting for an interview with me.)_

“Tum toh star ho, tumhe toh ye sab ki aadat hai. Ab daar kyun rahe ho?” Aman asks. ( _You’re a star, you’re used to it. Why are you scared now?)_

“Ruko pehele main mere manager se baat karta hu, then I’ll get back to you,” Kartik replies. None of them move from the spot they are currently standing in. Both of them look at each other waiting for the other’s next move. ( _Wait let me talk to my manager first, then I’ll get back to you.)_

“Aren’t you going to leave?” Aman asks

“What part of ‘there are a lot of reporters waiting for me outside’ isn’t clicking in your head?” Kartik asks annoyed. Aman doesn’t reply and just opens the door. Once outside, he sees a bunch of reporters at Kartik’s doorstep. They all turn to look at him once he walks outside. They start making their way towards him and one of them shoves a mic in his face asking about Kartik’s whereabouts.

“Close the damn camera before I break it into pieces,” Aman replies and walks back inside closing the door. He walks inside to see Kartik nervously sitting on the edge of the couch in Aman’s living room.

“Call your manager and ask what’s wrong,” Aman replies and sits on the other sofa. Kartik nods his head and calls Rabi.

“Are you inside your house yet?” Rabi asks immediately after picking up.

“I’m at my neighbor’s. What’s going on?” Kartik asks.

“Well you know the whole Mukesh Mehra case right?” Rabi starts.

“Abbey sab pata hai, tu point pe aana,” Kartik replies frustrated. ( _I know everything just get to the point.)_

“Well basically, the media thinks it’s a clear case of suicide,” Rabi says still stalling.

“And why am I being involved in this?” Kartik asks.

“Because they think you drove him to it,” Rabi finally says.

“Wha-what? I did what? How? What? Why?” Kartik asks shocked.

“The fight you had at the salon? Someone recorded it and now there are rumors going around that you pushed him to take this step,” Rabi says with a sad voice.

“But I- I didn’t do anything. I wasn’t trying to do that,” Kartik replies on the verge of tears.

“I know you didn’t. But still, you should lay low until this all goes down okay?” Rabi says.

“Why should I when I haven’t even done anything wrong?” Kartik replies.

“Just please, listen to me this once. Don’t go out, don’t-” Rabi’s voice gets cut in the middle, and Kartik realizes that his phone ran out of battery. He throws his phone on the sofa and places his head in his hands.

“Jab tak yeh sab thik nahi hojata, tum yaha rehe sakte ho,” Aman replies. Kartik looks up at his neighbor and gives him a sincere smile. ( _You can stay here till things get better)_

“Do you perhaps, have a charger for my phone?” Kartik asks and waves his phone. Aman runs to his room and brings out the only charger that he has in his apartment.

“Will this work?” Aman asks and shows Kartik the charger in question. Kartik takes a look and looks up at Aman, annoyed.

“I have an iPhone, not a flip phone,” Kartik replies with a ‘are you real?’ look on his face.

“This is all I have,” Aman replies.

“Okay don’t worry much. You can go back to whatever you were doing before I came,” Kartik replies.

“Oh um I have lessons to plan for my classes, I’ll be in my bedroom,” Aman says and Kartik nods in reply. Aman goes back to his bedroom while Kartik starts looking around his apartment. He notices all the beautiful paintings and vases Aman has in his living room and is awed. He didn’t notice all the things in Aman’s apartment the last time he was here but he really did miss out on a lot.

As he is looking around, he crashes into the wall. The wall moves a little and Kartik realizes that it is a hidden room. _Oh my god, is this his secret kink room?_ Kartik wonders and pushes the wall until there is enough space for him to enter. Once inside, he notices that the room is filled with ceiling length bookcases all filled to the brim. He looks at the books in the room and is seriously amazed at the number of books that is in that one single room.

He starts walking further inside the room and runs his hands over all of the books. He stops at a certain point and pulls out the book his hand just touched. When he looks at the cover he realizes that the thing he is holding is not a book but instead a journal. He flips open the first page out of curiosity and sees the words ‘ _Aman’s Dream Journal_ ’ written on it.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Kartik hears before the journal is ripped out of his hand. He looks and sees Aman standing there with a neutral look on his face.

“Oh I’m sorry, I thought it was a book,” Kartik replies.

“If you are staying here, there are a few rules I want you to follow. First, don’t come into this room, and second, stay at least 1 meter away from me,” Aman replies and puts the journal back to its place.

“I can do that, sure,” Kartik says and hears his stomach growling. “I’m hungry, can we have something?” He asks.

“The kitchen is all yours, go ahead,” Aman replies.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Kartik asks in return.

“I don’t like eating with people,” is all Aman says and walks out of the room. Kartik looks at the man and wonders why exactly he is the way he is. All he gets in response is his stomach growling and he decides to make good use of the kitchen and make him a good meal (read: Maggi).

_Later that night,_

Aman walks out of his bedroom to see Kartik laying on the couch, the pillows all scattered around him and a blanket randomly thrown in the middle. Kartik doesn’t notice Aman until he sits on the other end of the couch.

“What are you thinking about?” Aman asks when he gets no response from Kartik.

“The party, and this dream I had,” Kartik says.

“What dream?” Aman asks intrigued.

“I had with you-” Kartik starts but stops before he can say anything else.

“A dream with me in it? What was it about?” Aman asks looking at Kartik with a small smile on his face.

“It was nothing, just a stupid dream,” Kartik says and gets up from the couch.

“The way you are avoiding it makes it sound like you had a dirty dream about me,” Aman replies with a laugh.

“Shut it. Do you want coffee or not?” Kartik asks and goes into the kitchen. Aman replies with a simple yes.

A few moments later they are standing on the balcony looking at the busy street under them while enjoying their coffee.

“Do you want to know why I moved here?” Kartik asks looking at Aman. Aman just gives him a smile and a nod in return.

“Do you see that hoarding board over there? That’s the most expensive place in the entire country. Not everyone can afford to advertise on it. So they only put the face of the most popular celebrity at the moment,” Kartik says and Aman looks at the hoarding board in question. He sees that there is a poster of Kartik on it holding what looks to be a perfume bottle.

“Whenever I have a bad day, I just come and look at him. Him who looks so strong and sexy. He gives me the strength to work harder and not let anyone move him from there,” Kartik says. Aman looks at Kartik as he smiles at the hoarding board. Aman gets the same weird feeling he got when he saw Kartik sleeping on his couch for the first time.

“Let’s go back inside. It’s getting kind of cold,” Aman says and leads Kartik inside. Kartik goes and lies on the couch while Aman decides to go back to his bedroom.

“Um you know I’m an insomniac right?” Kartik says.

“I don’t know what to do with that information,” Aman replies.

“Can you give me a book? Those make me fall asleep faster,” Kartik says and Aman looks at him shocked.

“You use books to fall asleep?” Aman asks. All he is gets a nod in reply. He looks up at the ceiling cursing the person who put him in this position and leaves to get a book for Kartik.

At around midnight, Aman is woken up by a dream. Not the same dream he has been having since he was eight. But a different dream. He can’t remember anything about that dream and that scares him. He gets up from his bed and goes to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. He gets his water and goes to the living room where Kartik is supposed to be sleeping.

When he walks in, he notices that all the lights are off. He walks closer to the sleeping body and notices that the idiot has fallen asleep with the book covering his face. He moves the book away from his face and sees how his neighbor’s peaceful sleeping face looks.

_Beautiful,_ is what his mind supplies.

_Wait what, have I lost it?_ Aman thinks and moves away from Kartik’s sleeping form. He places the book on the table and covers Kartik’s body with the blanket that is pooled around his feet and walks back to his room.

_When you start falling for someone, you’re never prepared for it. It just comes and strikes you. At once. And you can’t do anything but embrace the feeling no matter what the consequence might be._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me your thoughts about this chapter? does it make up?   
> and as always, i love seeing your reactions and theories as to what going on so please send them my way and I'll keep on appreciating it  
> bye for now, see you next time!


	9. Scene 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's falling, doesn't even know it yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw for mentions of depression and anxiety  
> other than that, enjoy!  
> also welcome shadesofmannie into this fic

“The guests in the party were all invited by the couple themselves. No managers, assistants or staff even allowed. We have the list of people here,” Om says, shaking the file which has the name of all the people who were on the cruise on the night of the party.

“Okay, let’s look through the CCTV footage,” Sandy says and presses play. They skim through most of the party and don’t notice anything suspicious.

“Wait, hold. Go back,” Sandy says at one point. Om looks at her and rewinds until she tells him to stop. They both look at the screen and see a man.

“Who is he? He isn’t on the guestlist right?” Sandy asks and takes the file.

“No, he isn’t. How did he even manage to?” Om asks confused.

“Get me details on this man as quickly as possible,” Sandy says but before Om can answer, they hear a phone ringing. Om picks up the phone and is shocked to hear what the person on the other side says.

“They found a suicide note,” Om says as he hangs up. Just then, another officer walks into the room and gives them the autopsy report.

“Death by drowning. The victim was also taking medication for depression and anxiety,” Om reads out from the report.

“Well it looks like it’s a clear case of suicide,” Sandy says and Om looks at her.

“Don’t you think this is a little weird? Like till yesterday we didn’t have a suicide note but today everything is piecing itself together,” Om says.

“Are you saying this is a murder?” Sandy asks.

“All I’m saying is we should keep looking into it,” Om says and they both look at the man on the screen on the desktop.

_Back at Aman’s apartment,_

Aman walks out of his bedroom to see Kartik, upside down on the sofa, his head supported by two pillows, seemingly vibrating.

“Good morning, Aman,” Kartik says.

“What exactly is going on here?” Aman asks and looks around him. Junk food wrappers are thrown around, peels from fruits rotting everywhere, blankets and pillows messily arranged.

“Oh, I kind of felt a little swelling. Think it was because of the Maggi I had last night but you never know. This is a good exercise. Do you want to try?” Kartik asks.

“Are you craz-”

“0000,” Kartik interrupts.

“kya?” _(What?)_

“mera passcode. Mujhe zyada cheeze yaad nahi rehti toh maine sabse easy password choose kiya. Arey wah exercise ki wajah se meri memory bhi aahrahi hai,” Kartik says with his eyes wide. _(My passcode. I can’t remember things so I chose the easiest passcode I could. Oh wow this exercise is helping my memory.)_

“Hey upar wale, mujhe utha le,” Aman says. _(Oh god, please kill me.)_

“Aacha rhyme tha,” Kartik says with a chuckle. _(That’s a nice rhyme.)_

“Teri toh main,” Aman says and pulls the pillow from under Kartik’s head. Kartik moves so that his head is placed on the sofa. Before Kartik can move from his spot, Aman climbs on top of him and pins him down. Kartik wiggles around trying to break free from Aman’s hold but is unsuccessful. _(You wait.)_

“Maine kuch nahi dekha,” they both hear someone speak. Aman turns around and sees Goggle standing there with her eyes wide. She uses her hands to cover her eyes but the things she is holding in her hands stop her from doing so. _(I didn’t see anything.)_

“Rajni, tum yaha kaise aai aaj?” Aman asks and let’s go of Kartik, moving away from the couch. Goggle looks at him and points to herself. Aman rarely calls her Rajni and this instant never seems to not shock her. _(Rajni, why are you here?)_

“Sorry, maine doorbell nahi bajaya. Mujhe nahi laga tha ki tum yaha kisi ke saath hogay. Definitely not Kartik Singh,” Goggle replies and gives Kartik an awkward wave. Kartik gets up from his spot and fixes his clothes. _(Sorry, I didn’t ring the doorbell. I didn’t think you’d be here with someone.)_

“Hello, I’m Kartik, and you are?” Kartik asks.

“Rajni, I’m his sister. Cousin to be more exact,” Goggle replies.

“Oh nice to meet you but can I ask woh aapke haat me kya hai?” Kartik asks formally looking at the bags Goggle is holding. _(-what’s that in your hand?)_

“Oh yeh, aaj maine fish curry banaya toh socha Aman ke liye bhi laau,” Goggle replies. _(Oh this, I made fish curry so I thought I’d bring some for Aman)_

Goggle places the plate filled with rice on the table as Kartik pulls Aman into the dining room.

“Maine kaha tha mujhe logo ke saath khana pasand nahi hai,” Aman says trying to run back to the living room. _(I told you I don’t like eating with people.)_

“Tumhari behen aaihai. Thodi toh izzat rakh lo,” Kartik says and pushes him into the chair. Kartik takes the seat next to him and grabs the plate. (Your sister is here. Please be a little more respectful.)

“Rajni tu samjha na isse please,” Aman whines. _(Rajni, please make him understand.)_

“Aman, phirse jo hua woh nahi hoga. Tu jaanta hai humain,” Goggle says. _(Aman whatever happened won’t happen again. you know us)._

“Kya hua?” Kartik asks looking back and forth between the both of them _. (What happened?)_

“Batana-” (don’t say-)

“Iske gusse se tang aakar ek baar ek ladke ne iske khane me thuk diya tha. Uski wajah se yeh bimar hogaya tab se yehi chal raha hai,” Goggle says _. (One time a boy spit in his food because he got irritated by his anger. He got sick because of it, since then this is what is happening.)_

“Mat,” Aman finishes. Kartik looks at Aman and bursts out laughing _. (-anything)_

“Chup chap muh band kar aur khana kha,” Aman says to Kartik _. (Shut your mouth and eat.)_

“Muh band karke kaise khate hai?” Kartik asks. Goggle seeing this interaction starts laughing. Then slowly Kartik joins in and both of them start laughing like idiots while Aman places his head in his hands. _(How can I shut my mouth and eat?)_

“Yeh media wale pagal hai kya?” Aman asks as he and Goggle are walking through the supermarket. _(Are the people in media crazy?)_

“Kyun?” Goggle asks. _(Why?)_

“Nahi, yeh sab Kartik ke apartment ke bahar aise camp lagake baithe hai, aur koi kaam nahi hai kya?” Aman asks _. (No, they are camped outside Kartik’s apartment like this, don’t they have anything else do to?)_

“Aise hi hai in stars ki life, general public ko toh bas koi bhi problem ho, ek celebrity ko uthao aur bolo ki yeh hi gunhegar hai,” Goggle says with a sad voice. ( _This is what life is for these stars. Whenever the general public has a problem, they pick a celebrity and put the blame on them.)_

“Aur agar woh celebrity innocent hai toh? Uska kya? Uske zindagi ka kya?” Aman asks frustrated and Goggle looks at him with a knowing smile playing on her face. _(What if that celebrity is innocent? What about them? What about their life?)_

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Aman asks.

“No reason, oh look the phone charger is there,” Goggles points to the direction and the two start making their way to the spot.

“Iske baad kya hai list me?” Goggle asks. ( _What’s next on the list?)_

“Comics apparently,” Aman replies.

“Now where will you go looking for comics?”

“He said he has a friend who runs a comic shop,”

“Well have fun, I’m going to go now,” Goggle says. Aman gives her a smile and wave as a form of goodbye.

Aman walks into the comic shop and sees a woman who looks as if she had been scolding the two men who are currently in front of her before he walked him. She turns around and Aman sees her eyes widen. The woman starts blushing and making her way towards him.

“Hello, welcome, I’m Mannie, how can I help you today?” she asks and bats her eyelashes.

“Um yeah, I need some comics,” Aman answers and pulls out the list Kartik gave him.

“Oh yeah? Which ones do you need?” She asks in a sweet voice.

“The dirty billionaire,” her eyes get wider (if that were possible) at Aman’s request. Aman continues telling her the names of the books and her reaction gets weirder with each name.

“You want those………..for yourself?” Mannie asks and Aman nods.

When Aman gets near the apartment building, he looks up at the hoarding board where two people are taking off the poster which was previously on it.

_Kartik’s strength. I can’t let him see this, he’s not ready._ Aman thinks and starts making his way back home.

Aman throws the bag of stuff on the sofa and takes a seat on the one next to it. Kartik picks up the bag and starts pulling out everything. He looks at the books and squeals.

“Did she ask anything about me?” Kartik asks flipping the book open.

“Why would she ask about you when she doesn’t even know that I know you?” Aman asks trying to find the logic in Kartik’s question.

“Oh yeah sorry about that. Where can I plug my phone for charging?” Kartik asks. Aman points to where the socket is and Kartik plugs his phone in. He turns it on and starts scrolling through the news articles about the case and himself.

“Want me to tell you the secret of not getting hurt by people?” Aman asks when he notices Kartik’s face looking solemn at the articles. Kartik hums in reply.

“Logo se kuch lena-dena hi mat rakho. Khud me khus raho toh logo se expectations hi nahi rahega,” Aman says. _(Don’t give or take anything from people. Be happy with yourself and you won’t have any expectations from people)_

“Aisi life ka kya faida?” _(What’s the point of a life like that?)_

“What do you mean?” Aman asks.

“What kind of life would it be without friends, without family? How can you live all alone?” Kartik asks. Aman doesn’t say anything so Kartik continues, “it seems you have no friends. Do you even have people come over to your house? Doesn’t it get lonely?”

Instead of replying to Kartik’s question, Aman says, “You have a bunch of reporters waiting for you outside, so many people all around you. Your manager, your assistant, fans, yet you are here. Alone,”

“I’m not alone. Hum ek saath hai,” Kartik says looking at Aman and giving him a genuine smile. ( _We are together.)_

“What a great news material this is right?” Kartik says with a laugh. “Hey look, I’m Kartik Singh and I’m with a man right now,” Kartik exclaims and walks over to Aman to pull him in a hug.

“Remember the one-meter rule,” Aman mutters out and Kartik moves away with a scowl on his face.

“You know what, I should go out and shout out to the world right now. And also look at the beauty outside. He probably looks better in the daylight,” Kartik says and tries to go towards the balcony. Aman runs towards him to stop him.

“What are you doing? Move I need to go out,” Kartik says excitedly. He pushes Aman away and Aman does not think before he drops the vase that was placed on the table near him. Kartik turns around to look at him and looks down at the vase.

“How did it fall?” Kartik asks.

“I don’t know, but it needs to be cleaned up,” Aman says. Just then Kartik’s phone starts vibrating signaling a text message.

“You might want to check that,” Aman says and Kartik walks over to his phone. He starts walking back to where Aman is while his eyes are glued to his phone.

_Rabi: I don’t know when you’ll get this message but_

_Rabi: they found a suicide note from Mukesh_

_Rabi: you could end up taking all the blame_

“Kartik, are you okay?” Aman asks.

“I’m not okay, why am I here? I didn’t do anything. Yet I’m here, hiding from everyone as if I pushed him off that cruise. I need to- I need to tell them,” Kartik starts walking but Aman grabs his hand.

“That’s not what I meant,” Aman says and looks down. Kartik looks down and sees that he stepped on the broken pieces of the vase and he starts feeling the stinging from it. Aman comes and picks him up in bridal style placing him on the sofa.

“It wasn’t my fault right? I didn’t kill him right?” Kartik says, his voice heavy with tears.

“No. none of it was your fault. Now stay where you are, I’ll go get ointment for it,” Aman says and goes to grab his coat. Kartik just keeps on staring at his bleeding feet.

A while later, Aman returns with a bag full of medical supplies.

“You didn’t have to get any of these,” Kartik says. Aman says nothing and places the bag next to Kartik. He goes to kneel but Kartik stops him.

“I’ll do it myself,” Kartik says and starts pulling out things from the bag. He takes out the ointment and moves to apply it to his wounds.

“Are you stupid?” Aman says and grabs the things from him.

He wipes the blood from Kartik’s feet and pulls out the shreds of glass from his wounds. He puts the ointment on and wraps Kartik’s feet in a bandage.

“The reporters are gone,” Aman says after he is done.

“Thank you,” Kartik starts. Aman looks at his face and notices the sad smile on his face. “For letting me stay. And for telling me it’s not my fault,” Kartik says. 

At night, when Aman is sitting all alone, he starts feeling something that can be best described as longing. When he is having dinner all alone, he longs to hear someone laughing. When he goes to his living room, he longs to see it be messy because of someone. When he goes outside, he longs to have someone next to him while he drinks his coffee and chats with them. He wants that someone to be Kartik.

“Have I gone crazy? Why do I feel like I’m missing him?” Aman asks himself.

_Well Aman, one sign of falling for someone is that you miss them every moment._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well someone is falling for someone  
> but who is the man Sandy and Om saw? and how did a suicide note pop up suddenly?  
> as always your support means a lot to me so keep em coming thank you.


	10. Scene 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kartik's career is slowly starting to go down into shambles, so what better to do than to celebrate it at an ice skating rink?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hi! this chapter is a little late (at least according to me). I was feeling slightly unmotivated to continue but then I had a random burst of inspiration thus, this was birthed.  
> pleathe enjoy!

“What do you mean by ‘Kartik’s character never comes back from America’? How can you change the entire story in the middle of filming?” Rabi asks the assistant director as Kartik and his assistant sit in the car waiting for Rabi to be done.

“I think you should talk to the writers about this,” The assistant director answers and Kartik is tired of their nonsense discussion.

“You know what, I don’t even like the script of this movie. What even is this tragic nonsense? Rich boy falls for the poor girl who is the daughter of the maid, the main villain comes in and he too falls for the poor girl. This is the most generic plot I have ever seen,” Kartik says to the assistant director as he walks out of the car. “Rabi, let’s go. Kartik Singh has rejected this movie,”

Kartik pulls Rabi into the car and instructs the driver to start driving.

“You know what, your service isn’t even good. I break out five minutes after I leave this salon. I was only bearing it because I was connected to your brand, but now Kartik Singh is rejecting this salon,” Kartik says as he walks out of the salon after they tell him that he can’t come here anymore.

Kartik walks into the main office of his management company and hears people screaming inside.

“Oh so now that he is caught in a scandal, you guys want to delay the contract?” he hears a woman who sounds like his mom say.

Kartik opens the door and walks in with Rabi behind him. He looks at the president of the Management Company and back at his mother.

“Now say that to his face,” his mom says and Kartik looks back at the president with an eyebrow raised.

“So um Kartik, you know how our contract with you is coming to an end right? So we wanted-”

“Let’s delay the contract. You guys did a terrible job at handling this scandal and you still have the audacity to call me one of your stars? Miss me with it. Ma, let’s go,” Kartik says and starts walking out. Rabi tries to follow him but Kartik stops him saying, “Why are you following me? You aren’t my manager anymore,” Rabi looks at Kartik and his mom who walk out of the place with a heavy heart.

_Meanwhile at the police station,_

“We found the man,” Om says placing the file of the mysterious man they saw on the CCTV. Sandy picks up the file and starts flipping through it.

“Can we get him to come in as a witness?” Sandy asks Om.

“I’ll get him to come in,” Om answers and calls the number given on the record.

“Is this Mr. Aman Tripathi? We need you to come to the police station. This is about the Mukesh Mehra suicide case,”

“So you think I’m involved in this case?” Aman says with an unimpressed look on his face.

“It’s our job to doubt people,” Om answers. “Where were you on that day?”

“I was at my sister’s,” Aman answers.

“Can your sister confirm that you were with her that night?” Sandy asks.

“Yes she can. I’ll leave her number here,” Aman says.

“But I have a question. If you were with your sister that day, who is this on the CCTV camera footage then?” Sandy asks as she plays the footage in question.

“Technology is very advanced these days, you never know where you might show up,” Aman answers.

“Okay, you can go then. We’ll call you when something comes up,” Om says and Aman thanks them before leaving.

“Keep an eye on this guy. Call his sister and check the CCTV camera footage as well,” Sandy says to Om.

“Yes ma’am. Also the handwriting analysis came in positive,” Om says.

“So it was him who wrote the letter?” Sandy asks shocked.

“Yes ma’am it seems so,” Om says.

“Then that’s it, we can close this case,” Sandy says relived.

“Apparently not,” Om answers sadly.

“Wait, why?” Sandy asks.

“The seniors think this is too coincidental and want us to keep looking into it,” Om answers.

“What even is there to look anymore?” Sandy says frustrated.

_Back at the apartment building,_

Kartik gets off the lift and walks over to the door of his apartment. He notices a package sitting outside and picks it up. There is a note on top. Kartik smiles and opens the note first. The note reads,

“ _Hey, Kartik I know it’s your birthday tomorrow. Here is a small advance gift for you._

_From your loving fan x”_

Kartik smiles at the note and opens the box. Once he sees what’s inside he throws the box and screams. He runs to the only place he can think of. _Aman’s Apartment._ He bangs on the door and rings the doorbell in a state of panic but no one answers.

“Aman please open the door,” he yells banging on the door. When that goes unanswered, he pulls out his phone and dials Aman’s number. The phone operator tells him that the number is currently out of reach.

“Where are you when I need you Aman?” Kartik says out loud.

When Aman returns from the police station he notices a sticky note on the lock. He pulls it off and reads.

“ _Seriously you need to get a good phone, I need to call you when things happen, Kartik x”_

The note makes Aman smile and he promises himself to get a new phone the first thing tomorrow.

_The next morning,_

Kartik walks out of his apartment door to grab the newspaper. He picks it up from the floor and notices a sticky note next to his door. He pulls it off and reads,

“ _Here’s my new number, save it and call me whenever there’s an emergency, Aman”_

Kartik smiles at the attempt of a smiley face next to Aman’s name. He walks inside his bedroom and grabs his phone. He types the number from the paper on his phone and calls. Two rings later, Aman picks up.

“So you got my note,” Aman says before Kartik can utter a word.

“How else do you think I know this number?” Kartik replies.

“Yeah that makes sense,” Aman says like he didn’t think of it before and that makes Kartik grin.

“Do you know what day it is today?” Kartik asks.

“It’s Tuesday, why?” Aman asks.

“No dummy, it’s my birthday today. Well I guess I finally believe that you don’t know who I am,” Kartik says in a fake sad voice.

“Stop being a drama queen,” Aman laughs on the other side.

 _He really has an amazing laugh. Why doesn’t he do it more often?_ Kartik wonders in his mind.

“Hello? Kartik? yeh phone ko kya hogaya ab?” Aman says when Kartik doesn’t answer. _(What happened to this phone now?)_

“Tumhare phone ko kuch nahi hua. Tum kya keh rahe the?” Kartik asks because he didn’t catch what Aman was saying when he was too lost in his thoughts. _(Nothing’s wrong with your phone. What were you saying?)_

“Haan main yeh kehe raha tha ki aaj ka koi plan hai? Nahi hai toh aajao main aur Rajni ice skating k liye ja rahe hai,” Aman repeats. _(Oh I was wondering if you had any plans for the day. If not, Rajni and I are going for ice skating, you can come)_

“Ice skating? I have never done it before,” Kartik replies, his voice filled with awe.

“Why do you sound like me?” Aman says with a chuckle.

“Maybe we have started spending too much time together,” Kartik replies. When he realizes what he just said, his eyes go wide. Before he can backtrack and apologize he hears Aman laugh on the other side.

“5 pm. Be there, or we are leaving without you,” Aman says. _There is the old Aman I know._

“I get it. Now hang up, I have other people waiting on line,” Kartik says and laughs.

“Hey, you were the one who called me and the other way around,” Aman says with a fake angry voice. “Okay but I need to seriously go, I have to take my student’s exams today,” Aman says.

“Jao, torture karo un gareeb bacho ko,” Kartik says and hangs up. Immediately after that, his phone starts ringing again. He looks at the caller id and sees that its Kusum. _(Go torture those poor children)_

“Arey wah dekho aaj kisko bhai ki yaad aai,” Kartik says. _(Oh look someone remembered her brother today)_

“At least yaad toh aai kamine. Happy birthday,” Kusum says with her grumpy voice. _Typical Kusum. (At least I remembered)_

“Thank you,” Kartik replies with a sincere voice.

“Chal ab senti mat ho. Aur sab thik hai? With this case and all?” Kusum says. _(Okay don’t be emotional now. Is everything okay now?)_

“Jitna thik ho sakta hai, utna thik hai. Ab dekhe aage kya hota hai,” Kartik replies. _(It’s as good as it can get)_

“Tu bas apna khayal rakh. Waise aaj koi plan hai?” Kusum asks. _(You just take care of yourself. By the way, any plans for the day?)_

“Haan, hai ek plan,” Kartik replies with a huge smile on his face. _(Yeah, I do have a plan)_

Kartik parks the car in the parking lot and tries to get out of his car when someone crashes theirs into his. Kartik hits his head against the steering wheel. When he looks at the rearview mirror he sees a man walk out of the car that just hit his. The man’s face looks familiar and Kartik remembers it is one of the reporters who was stood outside his apartment when he was hiding in Aman’s apartment. He immediately covers his face as the man approaches his window.

“Sorry about that, if you could step out of the car we can have a discussion?” the man says.

“No, it’s okay. I can pay for the damages. You can leave,” Kartik answers but the man doesn’t budge. Slowly, a bunch of cars and people come towards the scene. All of them pull out their phones and cameras and start taking videos immediately. Kartik hides his face and is genuinely scared.

“There’s nowhere to go from here, please come out or we’ll have to open the door ourselves,” the man says and Kartik immediately locks the door. The man smirks and knocks on his window. Suddenly the knocking stops and Kartik hears a new voice.

“This wasn’t an accident. It was planned,” he hears a woman’s voice and looks from his window. He sees Aman’s sister Rajni outside talking to the reporter.

“And who might you be?” the reporter asks.

“I’m Kartik’s legal advisor and we,” she says pointing to Aman who is standing next to her, “Are the witness of this entire thing”

“You knew he was in there this whole time but you still made the decision of running into his car. If he had gotten hurt, you could have been charged under willful negligence destruction. Moreover, when he refused to leave his car, you threatened him and tried to open his car without his consent. All of this can get you in jail for assault. Now, do you want me to call the police?” Rajni says and the reporters stay quiet. Kartik can hear the noises of cameras clicking pictures.

“And everyone, you can take pictures and videos. But if even one comes out, you’ll be sued,” Rajni says and everyone puts their cameras away. Aman moves to come in front of Kartik’s window and knocks on it. Kartik slowly opens the door and walks out of his car. He stands in front of Aman and looks at him.

“You should only hide when you have done something wrong,” Aman says with a small smile. Kartik looks around and sees everyone staring at them. He takes Aman’s hand in his own and says, “Manager Aman, tum kaha the? Chalo, chalte hai yaha se,” he pulls Aman away from the crowd. _(Manager Aman, where were you? Come on, let’s go away from here)_

“Hey, capture that,” the reporter says and Rajni just glares at him.

“So Rajni is a lawyer? That’s impressive,” Kartik says as they wait for Rajni to finish up with the mechanic who’ll look after Kartik’s car.

“Her father wanted to be a lawyer and was unsuccessful. So she made it her dream,” Aman replies with a smile.

“Where are your parents now?” Kartik asks intrigued because Aman didn’t have any pictures of his family back at his apartment and he didn’t really mention them a lot.

“Back in Allahabad,” Aman replies, and Kartik looks at him shocked.

“Wait, they are alive?” Kartik asks without thinking and Aman looks at him with his eyes wide.

“Yes, they are alive and well. What gave you the idea that they aren’t?” Aman asks.

“No you didn’t have pictures of them back at your apartment and you don’t really- okay never mind, I need to stop assuming things about people,” Kartik says and Aman laughs.

 _It’s even more beautiful when we are face-to-face. And he looks so beautiful laughing. Can he stay like this forever?_ Kartik thinks in his head.

“You really should. Also, I don’t have many pictures of anyone. Not even myself,” Aman says and waves at Rajni who is crossing the road to come to them.

“Let’s go in,” Rajni says.

The three of them walk inside and pay for the tickets. They walk over to where the skates are and grab the ones for their sizes. They pull on their skates and walk out into the ice. Rajni immediately starts skating like a pro while Aman stands there with his hand holding the railing. Kartik starts skating around him.

“Oh wow, that’s slippery,” Kartik says before he falls flat on his butt.

“What else did you expect?” Aman says and holds out his hand. Kartik takes his hand and pulls himself up.

“Do you not know how to skate?” Kartik says when Aman doesn’t move to skate.

“Oh I do. I was just here to keep you company,” Aman replies. Kartik is shocked to say the least. No one has ever done this for this. All his life, he has been told to do whatever he has been assigned. No one has taken their time and waited till he got comfortable. And this, this warms his heart.

“Why don’t you teach me?” Kartik asks looking at Aman with a soft smile.

“Do you want to learn?” Aman asks and Kartik gives him a nod. Aman lets go of the railing he was holding and holds his hand out for Kartik to take. Kartik holds his hand and Aman pulls him. Aman takes his other hand and the two start walking towards the middle slowly. Kartik’s foot slips a few times but he catches himself before he falls. At some point Rajni comes and Aman and her each hold one of Kartik’s hands and the three skate. But later Kartik’s foot slips and the three fall. Instead of getting up, the three lie on the ice and start laughing. Kartik hasn’t had this much fun in years.

“Oh my god, this was the best birthday in a while,” Kartik says as he and Aman make their way into the elevator of their apartment building.

“Glad we were able to make that happen,” Aman replies and clicks the 14th-floor button on the dial.

“Thank you guys so much,” Kartik says in a sincere voice. Aman just gives him a smile in return.

At around midnight, Aman is woken up by a dream. Lately, Aman has been having three different dreams. None of the dreams are clear enough. Aman has restarted his dream journal and he just records whatever he can remember. He pulls out the journal and reads whatever has been written until now.

_A car at the cliff. Someone in the car screaming his name._

_A glass bowl falling from above._

_A wire snapping._

Aman is terrified because his last dream ended up becoming reality no matter how hard he tried to stop it. Aman doesn’t know what these dreams indicate and when they are going to happen. All Aman knows is that he can’t stop it no matter how hard he tries. But one thing that scares Aman the most is, _what if Kartik is involved in these again?_

_Another sign of falling for someone is the urge to protect them. The urge to keep them happy and smiling all the time._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof thoughts?  
> well I have nothing more to say so let me know what you thought of this chapter  
> I'll see you as soon as i can!


	11. Scene 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why are so many people visitng Kartik today?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooooooo! i have a chapter for you people.   
> i said "enough fluff now move on to the plot"  
> please enjoy!

Kartik hears the doorbell ring as he is watching the TV. _Who could it be?_ He wonders and walks up to his door. He looks through the peephole and sees two people standing there. He opens the door and the two look at him.

“Shanti ma’am y-” Kartik starts but the woman who looks way too much like Shanti stops him.

“Detective Sandy and Om, we’re here to talk to you about the Mukesh Mehra suicide case. Do you mind if we come in?” the woman, apparently named Sandy, says and pulls out her ID showing it to Kartik. Kartik nods his head and leads them inside. Once inside, the two sit on the sofa while Kartik goes to fetch them a glass of water. He places the glasses on the table and sits on the other couch.

“What do you want to know?” Kartik asks.

“You were at the party right? What did you see? Anything unusual?” Sandy asks and Kartik tries to think back to the night of the party.

“It was mostly normal. I saw Mukesh like three times in that party and we had a conversation if you can call it that, two times,” Kartik says.

“I need details,” Sandy says.

“The first time was when we saw each other for the first time. It was around everyone. We saw that we both had the same shoes, which reminds me, I need to sue that bitch who lied to-” Om clears his throat which makes Kartik pause. “Sorry, um that was the first time. The second time I saw him was when I went to the bathroom, I saw him having a conversation with someone,”

“Someone? Who was that? What was the conversation about?” Sandy fires her questions.

“I didn’t see that person’s face. But I know it was a woman. If I see the pictures from the party I might recognize her,” Kartik says and Sandy sighs out.

“And the conversation? What was that about?” Om asks.

“I didn’t hear the full conversation. But I heard bits and they were talking about their future together. I think that woman and Mukesh were planning on getting married,” Kartik says.

“Okay, and the last time you saw him?” Sandy asks writing down everything Kartik has said till now.

“It happened after the cast photoshoot. I was getting a drink when he approached me,”

_Flashback to the night of the party,_

_Kartik was as the bar getting a drink for himself when someone tapped on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Mukesh standing there._

_“What are you doing now?” Kartik asks._

_“What? I can’t come and try to have a conversation with you?” Mukesh says and asks the bartender for a drink._

_“Looking back at our history? No,” Kartik replies and Mukesh laughs._

_“Let’s just ignore that for a moment. Or maybe till this party is over,” Mukesh says._

_“I’m willing if you are,” Kartik says._

_“Soooo how’s life?” Mukesh asks and Kartik laughs loudly._

_“What? I don’t know how to make a conversation with someone I’m supposed to hate okay?” Mukesh says and Kartik continues laughing._

_“It’s okay,” Kartik says in between his laughs. “But why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?” Kartik asks because he is genuinely confused._

_“I’ll have to befriend my future wife’s co-star right?” Mukesh says with a laugh. “No but honestly I’m tired of this rivalry shit we have, we both are great at what we do. Instead of hating each other, we should come together and-” Mukesh’s phone starts ringing and he looks at the caller ID. He smiles and locks his phone,_

_“Got to go, future wife awaits,” Mukesh says with a huge grin and walks away. Kartik smiles as he watches the smitten man go._

_Back to the present day,_

“That was the last conversation I had with him,” Kartik says with a sad smile.

“So he wanted to end this rivalry thing with you? And he wanted to get married? Then why would he go ahead and commit suicide on the same night?” Om asks frustrated.

“That is what I want to know,” Kartik says.

“We’ll continue looking into it. Thank you for your co-operation,” Sandy says and both of them stand up. Kartik shakes their hand and walks them out of his apartment.

_Later that night,_

Kartik is laying in his bed scrolling through his phone when the doorbell rings. _At this time? Who could it be now?_ Kartik thinks and walks over to the door. He peeps out and sees a teddy bear against it. He opens the door and the teddy bear is moved to reveal Shanti Priya’s (?) face.

“Hey, how are you?” she asks.

“You’re Shanti right? He asks and she laughs in reply.

“So I see my sister came in for questioning,” she replies.

“She’s your sister?” Kartik asks and nods when he realizes the answer.

“Yes, twins. I’m the older one though,” she says. Kartik notices that they both are stood outside and invites her in.

“Oh this teddy was just sitting outside your door when I arrived,” she says and hands him the teddy bear. He sees the teddy bear has a note on the bow of his neck which reads,

_“Hey Kartik, I know the last few weeks have been hard for you. Me and all of your supporting fans know you did nothing wrong. Here is just a small gift for you. Hope this made you smile a little._

_From your loving fan club! x”_

“This is sweet,” Shanti says and Kartik nods in agreement.

“Do you want coffee?” Kartik asks and goes into the kitchen while Shanti moves to the living room.

“Sure, I’d like a cup,” She says. “Also your apartment is extremely beautiful,”

“Thank you, I picked out most of it,” Kartik says and prepares the coffee. He brings out the cups and places them on the table. He picks up one of them and sits on the other sofa.

“So how are you holding up?” Shanti asks as she picks up the remaining cup of coffee.

“I’m barely holding up. But I guess I’m enjoying this break,” Kartik says.

“Well, I wanted to say I hope it’s over soon but since you’re enjoying this I might change my mind,” Shanti says and both of them laugh.

“Can I ask you a question?” Kartik asks when everything goes quiet for a moment.

“Sure, what is it?” Shanti says.

“Were you and Mukesh dating?” Kartik asks and Shanti chokes on her coffee. Kartik gets up and rubs her back until she signals him to stop.

“Sorry, it just shocked me. But no, the night of the party was the first time we met actually,” Shanti replies. “What made you think that though?”

“Oh I’m sorry for assuming. But before he died, we had a conversation. He said he was going to marry one of my co-stars. It could have been anyone, but you are the first co-star I met after the whole incident so I thought I’d ask it,” Kartik says with an apologetic look on his face.

“Don’t worry. You’re just curious. But as I said, the first meeting was at the cruise party,” Shanti says and Kartik nods. He gives her a smile and the two start talking about the movie and how everything is going after the whole plot change.

_The next morning,_

Kartik’s mom and Kusum are stood outside Kartik’s apartment. After ringing the doorbell four times and knocking on the door twice, Kartik is yet to answer the door.

“Ghar par nahi hoga, chalo chalte hai wapas,” Kusum says annoyed. _(I don’t think he’s home. Let’s go back)_

“Ab milne aaye hai toh milkar toh jaye. Aur waise bhi, tune ab tak apne bhai ka ghar dekha kaha hai?” Kartik’s mom says. _(We came here to meet him, so let’s meet him and go. Besides, you haven’t seen your brother’s home yet.)_

“Aur hum andar kaise jayengay?” Kusum asks sarcastically. _(And how are we planning on entering?)_

“Tere bhai ko main aache se janti hu. Uske paas creative password rakhne ka dimaag nahi hai,” Mom says and types in 0-0-0-0 on the lock and the door opens. Kusum stares at her in disbelief while mom smiles in triumph. The two make their way inside at the same time as Kartik comes out of the washroom with a toothbrush in his mouth. _(I know your brother very well. He doesn’t have enough brain capacity to keep a creative passcode.)_

“Aap log andar kaise aaye?” Kartik asks, his mouth full of toothpaste. _(How did you guys come in?)_

“Pehele toh ja kar brush karke aa phir baat karte hai,” his mom says and Kartik runs back to the washroom. Once he is done, he comes and sits on the sofa while his mom makes coffee in the kitchen. _(First, finish brushing your teeth, then we’ll talk)_

“Apna password change kar toh tu pehele. Yeh 0-0-0-0 koi bhi figure out karke ghus sakta hai,” Kusum says and sits on the sofa. Kartik rolls his eyes in reply. His mom places the coffee in front of him and ruffles his hair. Kartik just glares at her and takes the cup of coffee. _(You change your passcode first. Anyone can guess the 0000 and enter your house)_

“President ke paas se koi call aaya?” his mom asks. _And here I was thinking I could be Kartik, her son, and not Kartik, the actor for a moment._ Kartik thinks with a bitter smile. _(Did you get any calls from the president?)_

“Nahi, no calls or anything,” Kartik says and his mom nods. They sit in silence for some time until the doorbell rings again. Kartik gets up to answer it but Kusum beats him to it. She returns a few moments later with a package in her hands. She hands it to Kartik and he opens it. He throws the box once he sees what’s inside and screams. _(No, no calls or anything)_

“Kartik, kya hai isme?” his mom asks and rubs his back as he shakes in fear. Kusum picks up the box and sees a dead rat inside with a picture of Kartik that says _“you’ll die too,”_ written in red ink. She takes the box and immediately runs outside to catch the person who came to deliver it. The person gets on his bike before she can reach him. She throws the box out and walks back to the apartment where Kartik has his head in his hand silently sobbing. _(Kartik, what is in it?)_

“I can stay here with you if you need,” Kusum says when Kartik is walking her and mom towards the elevator.

“No, I’m good now. You can go. I’ll call if I need something,” Kartik reassures her.

“You better,” Mom says and takes Kartik’s face in her hand. She gives his forehead a small kiss and taps his cheek. “Please take care,” Kartik smiles and gives her a nod. The three of them hear the elevator doors open and Aman walks out of it. Kartik’s mom looks at the man and recognizes him from the hospital.

“What are you doing here?” Kartik’s mom asks Aman who walks towards his door.

“I’m just going to my apartment?” Aman replies but it comes out more like a question.

“Aren’t you the same man who Kartik-” Kartik sees where this is going and immediately runs towards Aman.

“He is my new manager, it was his first day when I was in the hospital,” Kartik replies.

“But wasn’t Rabi your manager-” his mom starts but Kartik just pushes them towards the elevator while saying goodbye.

Kartik sighs out in relief and walks back to where Aman is still standing. Aman looks at him while Kartik gives him a smile.

“Can you stop introducing me as your manager to everyone? I don’t remember applying for that job,” Aman says and leans against his door.

“Do you want the job though? Isn’t the semester about to end? It could be like a summer job,” Kartik says excitedly.

“Why would I even want that job?” Aman scoffs.

“Because you get to work with me,” Kartik replies with a huge grin on his face.

“More like work for you,” Aman replies, and Kartik continues staring at him with that same smile on his face. Aman rolls his eyes and lets out a groan. “I’ll think about it,”

“I knew you’d agree,” Kartik says and starts walking back to his apartment.

“I haven’t agreed yet,” Aman says.

“You already have, bye Aman,” Kartik says and closes his door. Aman looks at the closed door and smiles to himself.

_The next day,_

“Tin din,” Goggle says with an unimpressed look on her face. _(Three days.)_

“Yeah?” Aman agrees.

“Tumhe ek smartphone liye huwe tin din hogaye aur tum mujhe aaj bata rahe ho?” Goggle says. _(It’s been three days since you bought a smartphone and you’re telling me now?)_

“Sorry main bhool gaya,” Aman apologises. _(Sorry I forgot.)_

“Nahi tum ek kaam karo, mujhe hi bhool jao,” Goggle says and walks away. Aman follows her. _(You know what, forget me instead.)_

“Ek toh main itne saalo se keh rahi hu ke ek smartphone lelo, par meri baat nahi mani. Par ab ek ladke ne kaha, toh sahab ne naya phone leliya,” Goggle says, still walking away from Aman. “I thought it was bros before hoes, but I guess that’s all a lie,” _(First of all, I have been asking you to get a smartphone for years but you don’t listen to me. But now that a guy asked you, you sir, bought a new phone.)_

“Tu yeh bol kya rahi hai? Bros? Hoes?” Aman asks trying to keep up with her. _(What are you even saying?)_

“Heart been broke too many times,” Goggle says finally stopping.

“What language is this?” Aman says but before Goggle can reply, his phone starts ringing. Kartik’s name is displayed on the screen and Goggle is giving him an unimpressed smile. He gives her an awkward smile in return and picks up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Kaha ho tum?” Kartik says from the other side. _(Where are you?)_

“Bahar, kyun?” _(Out, why?)_

“Oh thank god, ek request karu?” Kartik asks. _(Oh thank god, can I ask for something?)_

“I can’t believe you agreed to get momo” Goggle says as they wait for the momo to be served.

“Yeah yeah,” Aman says and rolls his eyes. Their plates are placed in front of them.

“Hello, can I get a plate to go? No wait, actually make that two,” Aman says to the waiter and the waiter gives him a nod.

“What are you even going to do with all those?” Goggle asks taking a bite out of hers.

“I’m going to save them for later,” Aman says with a soft smile on his face.

Kartik hears the doorbell ring and he immediately walks to open the door. He sees Aman on the other side holding a takeaway bag.

“Here, the momo you asked for,” Aman says passing him the bag.

“Have you eaten? If not let’s eat together” Kartik says with a huge smile as he opens the bag.

“No, I haven’t but I can have this back at my-” Aman starts but Kartik runs off. “Guess I’m eating with you”

Aman walks into his apartment and sits on the sofa. Kartik brings out the plates and the forks. Aman helps him take the things out of the bag. Kartik moves his laptop from the table and places the bags there. Aman looks at the sofa in front of him and spots a huge teddy bear sitting on it.

“A fan sent it to me,” Kartik says and Aman smiles. Kartik pulls out his phone after he plates everything. Aman looks at him confused.

“Instagram story,” is all he gets in reply. Kartik moves his phone at different angles and at one point Kartik points it at the teddy bear and Aman notices something weird.

“Can you point it at the teddy bear again?” Aman asks and Kartik looks at him confused. He points his camera at the teddy bear and notices red blinking light coming from its eye. When he moves the camera, he can’t see the light. Aman looks at him and walks over to the teddy. He rips the eye and pulls it out. He sees what looks like a device like thing that comes out with it and hears Kartik gasp.

“Why would someone even send me a teddy bear with a hidden camera? Do they hate me so much?” Kartik says with a heavy voice as Aman drives them to the shop where Kartik has given his clothes for fitting.

“Don’t worry, we’ll file for a report. The person will get arrested soon,” Aman replies.

“First the portrait of Mukesh with bloody eyes, then the dead rat and now this teddy bear. What else do I have to go through?” Kartik says and Aman genuinely feels bad. After spending so much time with Kartik, he has learned how kind and amazing Kartik is. He doesn’t deserve any of what he is going through but there is no way Aman can help him. He places his hand on Kartik’s knee, giving him a tiny squeeze and a pat for reassurance.

Aman parks the car in the parking lot and Kartik goes out. He looks in through the window and asks, “You won’t leave right?”

Aman gives him a soft smile and answers, “I won’t,” Kartik returns his smile and goes into the store. Aman decides to wait in the car. He pulls out his phone and starts playing around on it. A few moments later, he receives a text from Kartik saying that there are too many bags and he needs help carrying them. He gets out of the car and locks the door. He walks inside and spots Kartik at the counter with the bags all around him. He picks up as many as he can and the rest is picked up by Kartik. They walk out of the store and Aman’s eyes are hit with reflection. He looks up and sees someone holding a glass bowl ready to throw it down. Aman looks down and sees the person is aiming it at Kartik.

 _One of my dreams. This scene is from my dream._ Aman thinks and throws all the bags in his hands down. He grabs Kartik’s waist and pulls him away from the spot where he is standing. Both of them fall on the ground and hear the glass bowl shatter as it falls on the ground. Kartik faints when he hears the noise and everyone starts coming out of the shop.

“Someone please go catch that person,” Aman begs and looks at Kartik. “Kartik, wake up,” He says patting Kartik’s cheek. When he gets nothing in response, he picks him up in bridal style and carries him to the car. He gets the car started and moving.

_Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so thoughts?  
> will Kartik be okay? who do you think is sending Kartik these "gifts"?   
> As always, i appreciate the support you guys show this fic so please keep them coming  
> I'll see you in the next one bye <3


	12. Scene 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rollercoaster, that is what life is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, I'm back with another chapter.   
> please enjoy!

****

“Back to being a hospital patient,” Kartik says as he sits on the hospital bed after the doctors inform him that there are no visible injuries. “I don’t have any injuries, why am I still here?”

“There could be some internal damage. Remember you fainted,” Aman says from where he stands near the window with his arms folded over his chest. He is a little relaxed that nothing too bad happened with Kartik and he is back to his old annoying self.

“Isn’t that where blood is supposed to be?” Kartik laughs at his own joke and Aman regrets saving him. But before he can say anything, his phone starts ringing. He picks it up and is informed that the police managed to catch the man who was responsible for the attack. Aman lets them know that he’ll be there soon.

“They caught the man. I need to go to the police station,” Aman tells Kartik and starts making his way towards the door.

“You’ll come back right?” Kartik asks.

“I will. Rest now,” Aman replies, giving Kartik a soft smile and leaving the hospital room.

“It was a funny prank,”

“A prank? You nearly killed the man,” the officer says slapping a file against the man’s arm.

“I just wanted to joke with him,” the man says and Aman wants to rip his throat out.

“But why?” the officer asks.

“He is the reason why my idol is dead, he should die too,” The man says and sticks out his tongue.

“Mr. Tripathi, what are the crimes he committed? He sent a portrait of Mukesh Mehra, he sent a dead rat, he tried to throw a glass bowl on his head,” the officer writes whatever he is saying while the man who attacked Kartik stays silent.

“And he sent a teddy bear with the hidden camera,” Aman adds.

“That wasn’t me,” the man says offended.

“And why are we supposed to believe you?” the officer asks.

“I’m willing to take the blame for everything else, why wouldn’t I say yes to this too?” the man says.

_ If he isn’t the one who sent the teddy bear then who else could it be?  _ Aman thinks. He remembers how Kartik is currently alone in the hospital. If someone else is really out there to get Kartik, this would be the perfect opportunity. Aman, instead of panicking, decides to call Kartik. He gets up from where he was sitting and walks outside. Kartik doesn’t pick up the phone and now Aman is worried.

He goes back inside and lets the officer know that he has an emergency to deal with and runs out of the police station. He gets in the car and starts driving. He continues calling Kartik hoping he’d pick up at some point but that doesn’t happen. He reaches the hospital safely considering the way he was driving and immediately goes to the room where Kartik was.

The first thing he notices when he walks in is the empty bed. He walks to the washroom to see if Kartik is there but it is also empty. He walks out and asks the nurses if they have seen Kartik walk out but they tell him that Kartik was inside when they went in to give him his medicines. Aman slaps his hand on his forehead and tries calling Kartik again. This time he answers.

“Kartik, where are you?” Aman cries into the phone but he gets nothing in response. “Can you hear me? Kartik, please.”

Again, nothing. Aman cuts off the call and tries again. His call gets picked up again but he gets no response. He tries to listen to the surroundings but everything seems muffled. Suddenly, Aman hears a noise that strangely sounds like a car door being opened. He tries to listen closely to what else is happening but all he hears is shuffling noises and a loud bang suggesting that the car door was just closed.

“Aman,” Kartik cries out from the other side.

“Kartik, oh god, where are you? Are you okay?” Aman asks and sighs out in relief.

“I’m scared, what- no wait, they are pushing the car, it’s going- Aman save me, the car,” Kartik says, breathing heavily from the other side.

“What? Kartik what are you trying to say?” Aman asks now genuinely worried. He runs to the hospital parking area and gets inside his car.

“A cliff, they pushed my car. I can’t. The brake is not working- Aman I’m scared,” Kartik cries.

_ A cliff? A car? Someone screaming my name. NO not this again.  _ This is another scene from Aman’s dream. Aman slams his head against the steering wheel and tries to think of a way.

“Do you have control over the steering wheel?” Aman asks.

“I do but the cliff is getting nearer. I guess this is the end,” Kartik says softly.

“No, you listen to me. There is a huge rock on your left. Crash your car into it. Your airbags will save you. Do it fast Kartik,” Aman says as he remembers the dream clearly. Aman hears noises from the other side and then a huge bang before everything goes quiet.

“Kartik? Get out of the car. I’m coming to you as soon as I can,” Aman says and speeds his way to the cliff where he thinks Kartik is. Once he gets there, he notices Kartik is hunched near a tree and his car is completely ruined. Aman runs to Kartik and kneels in front of him. He places his hand on Kartik’s hair softly petting it. Kartik looks up from his position and immediately hugs Aman. Aman feels his shoulders getting wet and realizes that Kartik is crying. He rubs Kartik’s back as a way to soothe him. After a while Kartik pulls away and looks at him.

“Are you okay?” Aman asks and cups Kartik’s face wiping the tears away from his face. Kartik nods in reply and Aman hugs him again.

“Home, I want to go home,” Kartik mumbles weakly.

“Yes, we’ll go home. First we need to go to the hospital,” Aman says and helps Kartik stand. 

“No, please don’t take me back there,” Kartik begs as he leans on Aman for support. 

“But this could have given you more injury, Kartik,” Aman says and helps Kartik in his car. 

“Can we deal with that tomorrow? I just want to go home. Please Aman,” Kartik begs. Aman doesn’t want to be careless with Kartik’s health but he can’t bring himself to force Kartik to go back to the hospital.

“Okay, we can go home. But only if you promise me that you’ll tell me if anything is wrong,” Aman says. 

“I promise. Can we go home now?” Kartik pleads and Aman closes the door and walks to the driver’s side. 

  
  


Aman helps Kartik out of the elevator and walks him towards the door of his apartment. 

“Do you mind if I go back to my apartment? I just want to be alone,” Kartik says. 

“But I don’t think you should-” Aman starts but stops himself. He decides to let Kartik be alone and sort out his thoughts. “Okay, I’ll let you go back. But if anything happens, you call me. Is that okay?” Aman asks. 

“Okay, thank you for all of this,” Kartik says and walks over to his apartment. Aman decides to wait until Kartik goes inside his apartment. Once Kartik opens the door and walks inside, closing the door on his way in, Aman starts typing in his passcode but a loud scream stops him. He realizes that it was Kartik’s scream and runs to the door. He pounds on the door and hears footsteps running towards him. Kartik opens the door and looks at Aman with tears in his eyes. 

“Is everything alright?” Aman asks, pulling Kartik into a hug. 

“Someone, my apartment. It’s a mess,” Kartik explains in his panicked state. 

“Let’s go. You are staying at mine and I'm calling the building security,” Aman says and leads Kartik into his apartment. 

  
  
  


“What do you mean there is no cctv footage for this evening? What kind of security are you guys even offering?” Aman yells into the phone. 

“Sir, I think this entire thing was planned ahead. I’ll call the police and they’ll look into it,” the man on the other side replies terrified. 

“Do whatever you need, I need the culprit caught or I'm going to sue your security,” Aman says and hangs up. He walks over to his room where he left Kartik to change. He sees that Kartik has changed into one of his hoodies and a pair of sweatpants which are both small on his longer frame. Aman gives him a smile and walks inside his room. 

“You can sleep here tonight, I'll take the couch. If you need anything, just call for it,” Aman says. Kartik nods in reply and gets on the bed. Aman walks over to the library and grabs a few books for Kartik. When he returns, he notices that Kartik is fast asleep. He places the books on the bedside and sits on the bed. 

“I’m so sorry you have to go through all of this. Trust me if I could, I'd make it all better. You deserve nothing but happiness Kartik,” Aman says and pushes back Kartik’s hair that is on his forehead. He leans down and places a soft kiss on his forehead and walks out of his room. 

  
  


_ The next morning,  _

Kartik walks out of the bedroom and notices that the apartment is empty. He walks over to the kitchen to grab a glass of water where he notices a sticky note that reads, 

_ “I had something to discuss with Rajni, I'll be back in a few hours. If you want anything, just call me and I’ll grab it for you. Aman x”  _

The note makes Kartik smile and he goes back to the room to grab his phone. He opens up his contacts and dials Aman’s number. Aman picks it up after two rings. 

“Are you awake?” Aman asks. 

“Nahi, abhi bhi soya hua hu. Neend me phone kiya tumhe,” Kartik replies sarcastically.  _ (no, I’m still asleep. I called you while still sleeping.) _

“Chalo, tum phir se pehele jaise act kar rahe ho toh main yeh assume karta hu ki tum thik ho,” Aman says with a chuckle.  _ (Okay since you are acting like your old self I'm going to assume you’re fine.) _

“Kal jo bhi hua, uske ke liye bahot bahot thank you. Agar tum nahi hote toh mera kya hota,” Kartik replies solemnly.  _ (thank you for what you did yesterday. I don’t know what I’d have done without you.) _

“Tum Kartik Singh ho, koi na koi way toh nikal hi lete,” Aman replies in hopes of lightning up the conversation. He is successful when Kartik laughs.  _ (You’re Kartik Singh. You’d have found some way.) _

“Woh baat toh hai. Accha tumne kaha tha ki mujhe kuch chahiye toh main bol sakta hu?” Kartik asks.  _ (okay, that’s true. But you mentioned that if I needed something I could ask?) _

“Kyun kuch chahiye?”  _ (do you need something?) _

“Mujhe na pizza khaye bahot din hogaye. Mere last movie ke liye mujhe strict diet pe rehena tha so. Par aaj bahot craving ho rahi hai. La sakte ho?”  _ (I haven’t had pizza in a long time. I had to be on a strict diet due to my last movie but I’m craving it a lot today. Can you get it for me?) _

“Pizza hut, domino's ya aur kahi se?”  _ (Pizza hut, domino's or elsewhere?) _

“Pizza hut please,” 

“Kaunsa?”  _ (which one?) _

“Tandoori paneer?” 

“Aur kuch bhi?”  _ (anything else?) _

“Beer? Aur garlic bread,” Kartik replies excitedly.  _ (beer? And garlic bread.) _

“Aapki aagya ka palan hoga” Aman says teasingly.  _ (your wishes will be fulfilled.) _

“Thank you,” 

“Accha main ab ja raha hu nahi toh yeh Rajni mujhe maar de gi,” Aman says.  _ (okay I need to go. Or else Rajni will kill me.) _

“Okay, see you soon,” Kartik says and goes to hang up when he hears Aman say, “Why is it so cold today?” 

“Cold? It’s like-” Kartik starts but gets cut off when he realizes that Aman hung up. He looks and sees that the weather report is saying it's currently 38 degrees outside. 

_ How is he feeling cold in this temperature?  _ Kartik thinks in his head. 

  
  
  


By the time Aman comes back home, it is 7 pm. Kartik is watching a show when he hears the door open. He walks over and sees Aman holding a bag from pizza hut in one hand. He hands it over to Kartik and announces that he is going to freshen up and if he wants he can get started without Aman. Kartik takes the food to the living room and pulls it out of the bag. He opens the boxes and decides to wait for Aman. He scrolls through the channels and stops when he sees a movie. He opens up a beer bottle and starts drinking. 

A while later, Aman walks out of his bedroom in a sweatshirt and sweatpants. Kartik looks at him weirdly but doesn’t ask anything.  _ How is he wearing that in this hot weather?  _ Kartik wonders in his mind. Aman sits down next to him and grabs a slice of pizza. He looks at the tv and gives Kartik an impressed nod. 

After they are done eating, Kartik continues drinking his beer, and Aman tries to get him to stop before he gets too drunk. 

“Wait, you didn’t drink right?” Kartik asks when he realizes that he didn’t see Aman drink even a single bottle. 

“I don’t feel like drinking,” Aman replies. 

“Okay I won’t force you then. But I have a question,” Kartik says and turns to face him. 

“What question?” Aman asks and faces Kartik too. 

“How did you not know who I am?” Kartik asks. 

“Why are you asking this question so suddenly? Are you drunk already?” Aman  asks, confused . 

“No, I’m not drunk. Just intrigued,” Kartik replies. 

  
  


“I guess I don’t really keep up much with celebrities and things,” Aman replies. 

“You haven’t even seen me once? Like I'm everywhere. On movies, tv shows, commercials,” Kartik says. 

“I might have seen you, but I guess I didn’t really pay much attention,” Aman replies. 

“How can you not pay attention? Have you ever seen me?” Kartik asks in disbelief. 

“What do you mean by that?” Aman asks. 

“What I mean is, I'm beautiful, how can you not pay attention to me when you see me?” Kartik asks, still shocked. 

“You see that vase there?” Aman asks, pointing to said vase. Kartik looks at him confused but nods. 

“I find that vase beautiful. Does that mean I should know everything about it?” Aman asks. Kartik looks at him with his eyes wide. When Kartik says nothing in reply, Aman continues, “when I walk on the road, I see so many beautiful trees, paintings, words, etc. does that mean I should pay attention to all of those?” 

“30 seconds, give me 30 seconds,” Kartik says after some time. 

“What are you going on about now?” Aman scoffs. 

“People say I have the ability to charm them by being in a 30-second commercial. Let’s test that. After these 30 seconds pass and you still don’t feel anything, I’ll admit that I’m like that vase, tree, or painting that you are talking about,” Kartik says and grabs his phone. 

“Main nahi khel raha,” Aman says.  _ (I’m not playing.) _

“Shh, 1, 2, 3, start,” Kartik starts the timer and looks at Aman with a cute smile on his face. Aman stares at him, seemingly transfixed on the face of this man in front of him. Kartik thinks that that’s not enough of a response so he changes his expression to a sexier look. Aman continues staring at him. The phone starts beeping signaling that the 30 seconds are over. Kartik moves to shut the phone when Aman grabs his wrist. He pulls him closer and cups his face, smashing his lips against Kartik’s. 

  
  


_ Well, the rumors are indeed true.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, that happened.   
> sooo thoughts?   
> i hope you guys are enjoying this fic till now. let me know your views, is it good? can it be better? 
> 
> till next time! <3   
> twitter: manpashikjeok_


	13. Scene 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Together, in sickness and in health.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is a little late but a lot has been going on for me lately. I'm also losing motivation to continue this fic so there's that.  
> keeping that aside, enjoy this chapter :)

_An American psychologist conducted a series of experiments. He took the baby monkeys who share 95% of our DNA away from their mothers. Then he locked that monkey with two fake monkeys. One of the monkeys had a wire figure and a milk bottle in hand while the other one had a soft fur coat and no milk bottle in hand. Which one do you think the baby monkey picked?_

_The obvious answer here would be the fake monkey with the milk bottle right? The people conducting the experiment thought so too. But they were proven wrong when the monkey picked the one with the soft fur coat instead. This introduced the importance of skinship._

“30 seconds, give me 30 seconds,” Kartik says after some time. 

“What are you going on about now?” Aman scoffs. 

“People say I have the ability to charm them by being in a 30-second commercial. Let’s test that. After these 30 seconds pass and you still don’t feel anything, I’ll admit that I’m like that vase, tree, or painting that you are talking about,” Kartik says and grabs his phone. 

“Main nahi khel raha,” Aman says. ( _I’m not playing._ )

“Shh, 1, 2, 3, start,” Kartik starts the timer and looks at Aman with a cute smile on his face. Aman stares at him, seemingly transfixed on the face of this man in front of him. Kartik thinks that that’s not enough of a response so he changes his expression to a sexier look. Aman continues staring at him. 

_Eye contact can also be perceived as a way of touching. Dopamine is released in our minds and makes us feel pleasured during eye contact._

The phone starts beeping signaling that the 30 seconds are over. Kartik moves to shut the phone when Aman grabs his wrist. He pulls him closer and cups his face, smashing his lips against Kartik’s. 

_Kissing can increase your heart rate by two times. Oxygen intake by 20 times. Even your blood pressure increases. That is why, while kissing, your heart races and you feel out of breath. You’ll also feel light-headed. All of this might trick you into thinking you’re in love. But all of this is the result of skinship and your hormones taking control of your mind._

_You shouldn’t fall for it._

Kartik stays there with his eyes wide. He is too shocked to respond to the kiss or even pull away. Aman closes his eyes and gets lost in his mind. Both of their hearts feel as if they’ll come out of their chests. Once he realises what’s happening, he pulls away immediately. He gets up from the couch and looks at Kartik. Kartik stays there, frozen in his spot. 

“You can sleep in the bedroom,” with that, Aman runs to his study to hide while Kartik stays there still in shock. 

  
  


_One hour after the kiss,_

“It’s completely normal, there’s nothing wrong with it. It can happen between two adults,” Kartik mumbles trying to convince himself as his heart continues beating extremely fast. He kicks the blanket off his body and sits up on the bed. “It's normal, right?” he speaks again. 

Meanwhile, Aman stands on the balcony with a cup of tea in his hand and a blanket over his body, his heartbeat not slowing down. _Why is it so cold?_ Aman wonders as he drinks the tea. It feels soothing as it slides down his clogged up throat. 

  
  


_Two hours after the kiss,_

Finally Kartik’s heart goes back to being normal. He can’t sleep so he gets up from the bed and goes to the kitchen. He grabs a glass of water and walks back into the living room to see Aman on the couch, his body looking sweaty and the blankets pooling around his feet. 

“Aman? Are you okay?” Kartik asks, moving closer to Aman. He reaches out to shake Aman but he gets nothing in response. He touches Aman’s forehead and realizes that his body is burning up. He shakes Aman again but still there is no response. 

“Aman, wake up. Are you okay? Come on Aman,” Kartik cries out and hears Aman let out a groan. 

“Your body is burning up, we need to go to the hospital,” Kartik says. 

“It's just a fever, I'll sleep it off,” Aman says, his voice heavy. 

“It could be something more, come on I’m not letting you ‘sleep it off’” Kartik says. 

“I took medicine. Now leave me alone,” Aman says and turns to face away from Kartik. 

“Okay, at least go back to your room,” Kartik says and Aman gets up to go to his bedroom. 

  
  


_A few hours later,_

Kartik is trying to go back to sleep but the thought of Aman laying sick on his bed is eating him up. Aman was there for him when no one else was. He feels bad knowing he can do something for Aman but instead he’s here trying to sleep. Kartik decides that enough is enough and picks up his phone. 

“Kartik, is everything alright?” Mannie mumbles out, her voice sounding heavy with sleep. 

“Damn I didn't think of the time. I just needed some help,” Kartik says, feeling sorry. 

“It’s okay, I’m awake now, what is it that you need?” Mannie asks. 

“Do you have any tips on how to get rid of a fever?” Kartik asks. 

“Medicines?” Mannie replies confused. 

“No, anything else? You mentioned things you did for your nieces and nephews when they got a fever?” Kartik asks. 

“Oh, I'd give them massages, you know with a wet cloth?” Mannie replies. 

“Massage? What?” Kartik asks, making his way to Aman’s bedroom. 

“What I mean is, I'd take off the kid’s clothes, and rub their body with the wet towel. Makes the temperature go down,” 

“Do I have to do that?” Kartik asks, feeling shy. 

“Yeah, it's the best remedy. How old is the kid by the way?” Mannie asks when Aman groans out at being disturbed. 

“Wait, what was that? That didn’t sound like a kid, is that-”

“I need to go, bye. Thank you for the tip,” with that Kartik hangs up and looks at Aman. He has his eyes closed and his body is still extremely sweaty. _Massage it is,_ Kartik thinks in his mind. 

  
  
  


Kartik walks in the room with a bowl of water and a handful of towels. He puts one of the towels in the bowl, wetting it and placing it on Aman’s forehead. He then moves to unbutton Aman’s night suit but faces away from him. He gets to the third button and suddenly a hand clutches him to stop him. 

“What are you doing?” Aman asks, opening his eyes a little. 

“I’m trying to get your fever to go down a little. Keep quiet,” Kartik says and pulls his wrist away from Aman’s grip. He takes another one of the towels and wets it before moving to place it on Aman’s bare chest. 

“Don’t touch me,” Aman says and rolls away from Kartik. 

“If you don’t want me to do it, do it yourself,” Kartik says holding out the towel. Aman slaps his hand away and removes the towel that was on his head. He tries to get up from the bed but Kartik pulls him down and places the towel on his forehead again. 

“Shut it, let me do my job. You know Helen Keller was my idol when I was younger?” Kartik says. 

"I think the one you are trying to say is Florence Nightingale" Aman says with a faint smile. 

"No no I mean Helen Keller," Kartik tries to argue. 

"Whatever floats your boat," Aman says and closes his eyes again. 

"But how did you get sick? Was it because of that k- ki- k-" Kartik tries to say but can't bring himself to use the word. "You know what I'm talking about. That makes me feel as if I'm full of viruses,” Kartik complains. Aman just ignores him. 

"Perhaps, was that your first time?" Kartik says and Aman opens his eyes. "No, what makes you think that? Also can you leave?" Aman says and just goes to sleep instead of listening to Kartik. 

  
  


Aman wakes a few hours later when he feels cold air coming from somewhere. He opens his eyes and sees the balcony door is open. He drags himself out of his bed and closes the door. On his way back to his bed, his leg hits something. He looks down and jumps out of his skin. On the floor is a sleeping bag with what seems to be a person inside. 

"Abey yeh kya hai?" Aman asks. ( _What is this now?)_

"Haan, uthgaye? Thik ho na?" Kartik mumbles from inside the sleeping bag. _(Yes, are you awake? You’re okay right?)_

"Thik hu, ab niklo yaha se," Aman says and goes back to bed. _(I’m okay, now get out.)_

"Excuse me? niklo? Raat bhar tumhari sewa karne le liye ek thank you bhi nahi?" Kartik says and tries to open the sleeping bag. "Shit, zip tut gai, bahar se kholo na ise?" Kartik asks. _(Excuse me? Get out? I took care of you the whole night and I don’t even get a thank you?) (Shit, the zip broke. Can you open it from outside?)_

"Accha hua, ab shant raho," Aman says from the bed. _(Oh wow that’s nice. Now keep quiet.)_

"Accha? Tum mujhse kaam umar ke ho aur meri respect bhi nahi karte? Meri advice mano" Kartik says and slowly stands up still inside the sleeping bag. _(Nice? I’m older than you and you still don’t respect me? Listen to my advice.)_

"Sun rahe ho? Main tin tak count karta hu, agar mujhe nahi nikala toh there will be consequences," Kartik says and starts walking around even though he can't see anything. _(Are you listening? I’ll count till three. If you don’t get me out of here, there will be consequences.)_

"Ek, do, two and a half, two and a half and a half," Kartik starts and Aman gets up from the bed. He walks over to Kartik and picks him, placing him over his shoulder. He takes the sleeping bag with Kartik in it and places him on the couch. He pulls down the zip enough to uncover Kartik's face. _(One, two, two and a half, two and a half and a half.)_

" Chup chap sojao, mere sar meh dard hai," Aman says and leaves the room while Kartik screams in the background. "Yeh tune aacha nahi kiya, iski barpai karni padhegi. Mujhe gussa aane se pehele nikal do mujhe," _(Shut up and sleep. I have a headache.) (This isn’t very nice of you, you have to pay for it. Let me out before I get angry.)_

  
  


_The next morning,_

Goggle walks into Aman's apartment and looks around. Normally her brother is up by now and doing something boring, which he calls being productive. She walks into the living room and spots a sleeping bag in the room. 

"Aman? Tere bed ko kya hua?" Goggle asks the sleeping bag. _(Aman? What happened to your bed?)_

"Oh Rajni? Good morning. Main Kartik, mujhe isme se nikal do please?" Kartik pokes his head out of the sleeping bag and gives Goggle a cute smile. _(It's me, Kartik, can you get me out of this please?)_

  
  


Goggle places the _khichdi_ in front of Aman and ruffles his hair. 

"Agar tujhe thand lag rahi thi toh tu beer kyun pi raha tha?" Goggle asks. _(If you were feeling cold, why did you drink beer?)_

"Woh mere liye nahi, Kartik ke liye tha," Aman says and rolls his eyes. He gives the half-eaten plate back to Goggle, refusing to eat anymore. _(It wasn’t for me, it was for Kartik.)_

"Accha, tab tujhe achanak se kaise fever hogaya?" Goggle wonders. _(Really, then why do you have a fever all of a sudden?)_

"I was feeling cold? It must have developed into a fever," Aman asks confused. 

"Still your temperature was normal when we checked, it couldn't have developed without a contributing factor?" Goggle says, confusion evident in her voice. "Are you serious that you didn't drink last night?" 

"You know I haven't drunk beer since that party in university," Aman says laying back on the bed. 

"Not even a sip?" Goggle asks. 

"No, not even a drop," Aman replies, closing his eyes. 

"You know I had this weird theory," Goggle starts. 

"Hmm," Aman replies, encouraging her to continue. 

"Well basically I thought you were allergic to beer," Goggle says and Aman looks at her with his eyes wide. 

"What? Remember the spitting incident? That boy had beer for the first time which made him brave enough to do that. The party at the university where you drank and fell sick the next day? Beer again. This disproves my theory though," Goggle says getting up from the bed. 

"I kissed Kartik last night," Aman says suddenly out of nowhere and Goggle stops in her tracks. 

“Repeat that," Goggle says, turning to face Aman who tries to hide under his pillow. 

"I kind of kissed Kartik last night," Aman replies, and Goggle starts laughing. 

"You got sick because you kissed him?" Goggle says between her laughs. 

"No, not because I kissed him. It’s because of the beer," Aman says. He wants the bed to eat him. He wants to disappear from the face of the planet but none of his wishes come true as Goggle continues laughing. 

  
  


Kartik is pacing outside the door when Goggle comes out of the room. 

"Is he okay? He refused to go to the hospital," Kartik says and Goggle tries her hardest not to burst out laughing again. 

"Yeah he is good don't worry, he just discovered something about himself," Goggle says with a weird smile on her face. 

"What discovery?" Kartik asks, confused. 

"That is something he'll tell you himself," Goggle replies. "but I want to tell you something Kartik," 

"What is it?" Kartik asks curiously. 

"I have noticed a few things lately. I don't know if you have realized it yet or not. The thing is, Aman is not normal. He hasn't been normal since he was eight. This thing has affected him all his life. Keeping him away from a lot of good things in life. I hope Aman will tell you what it is soon. But if you plan on leaving him after that, I’d advise you don't start anything that will result in heartbreak later," Goggle says with a serious look on her. Kartik is trying to process her words and make sense of what she just said. Goggle gives him a sympathetic smile instead of clarification. 

"I have left some _khichdi_ on the counter, feed him if he feels hungry again. There are some soups too. Let me know if anything goes wrong," Goggle says as she gets ready to leave. Kartik is still trying to process her words so he just gives her a smile and a nod in reply. 

_What is your secret, Aman?_

  
  


_On the other side,_

"I get that you killed Mukesh, I’m trying my hardest to get you out of this situation. But why are you hurting Kartik?" she asks them. 

"Because he knows I did it. If he connects the dots, it’s over for me," they reply. 

"That is why, I’m trying to get this case ruled as a suicide, you just calm down and don't do anything that will put you in any more trouble," she says. 

"I couldn't have asked for someone better than you, thank you," they reply with a smile. 

"But I don't understand the suicide note, where did that come from?" 

"Oh, he had to do it for a movie. He wrote a practice letter at the beginning and I took it from him," they reply, a smile playing on their lips. 

"What do you mean 'took it from him'?" 

"I said he should give it to me as a token of his love, didn't know it would be useful now," 

"This side of you is scaring me, but I’ll help you as long as you don't do anything stupid," 

"I know, you'll always be there for me. No matter what. you're the best sister in this entire world," they reply giving her a hug. 

  
  


_But Kartik knows too much, he needs to die._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so thoughts?  
> are you guys liking where this is going?  
> as always, kudos, comments, and all that stuff keep me motivated so keep them coming.  
> thank you so much for reading this! <3


	14. Scene 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kartik is going broke. oh also, a confession takes place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was so fun to write so please enjoy!

A few days have passed since the kiss incident as Kartik likes to call it, and he is back at his apartment. He is laying on his bed scrolling through his phone. He accidentally clicks on the WhatsApp app and it opens up his conversations. He sees that his last message was sent to Aman asking him to pick up some fried chicken on his way home. That makes Kartik smile. He opens up the messages and sends Aman a message out of whim. 

_ Me: What are you doing? _

He closes the app and goes around his room cleaning up stuff. He is totally not waiting for the reply, he tells himself when he checks his phone again in the middle of his “cleaning”.  _ He isn’t even reading them,  _ Kartik thinks and just then the two ticks turn blue. 

“Ah he read it,” He says and closes the app again. A few minutes pass by and there is no reply. Suddenly his phone starts ringing and Kartik smiles before picking up without checking the caller ID. 

“Hi,” he says excitedly. 

“Is this Mr. Kartik Singh?” the voice on the other side says. 

“Yes, why?” Kartik asks, confused. 

“This is the owner of apartment 1402, I’m calling because we didn’t receive the rent deposit this month,” 

“What do you mean you didn’t get it?” Kartik asks. 

  
  


“Mr. Singh, you have insufficient funds in your account,” the bank manager tells him. 

“Then I can apply for a loan right?” Kartik says. 

“Sadly you can’t. You sold most of your properties to pay for the contract liabilities, there has been no income in the last few months. I can apply but I don’t think it’ll be successful,” the manager tells him, giving Kartik a sympathetic smile and Kartik just gives him a sad smile. 

  
  
  


Kartik walks into his apartment thinking about how he can pay the deposit for the apartment. He walks into his closet and sees an array of luxury items laid out. He considers selling them to collect money. His eyes go wide when he processes that thought,  _ I'm not selling my babies.  _ He thinks and runs out of there only to walk back in and grab some stuff he hasn’t used more than once. 

He places all the things in the living room and considers returning them to the stores he bought them from. But the thing is, he doesn’t remember where he got most of these things from, so selling them online it is. He pulls out his camera and poses with each item. He grabs his laptop and goes through all the pictures he took uploading the best ones to the website. He puts in all the details about the products and when it asks for a phone number Kartik debates on putting in his own. He smiles when he remembers there is someone else whose number he can use. 

  
  
  


Aman is in the middle of teaching a class when his phone pings with a message. He pulls out his phone from his coat pocket and everyone starts whispering. He takes a look at the message which reads, 

_ Unknown Number: negotiable?  _

He just closes the app and continues on with his lesson when his phone pings again. The whispering gets louder when Aman pulls out his phone to check the message again. This time it reads, 

_ Unknown Number: how about 7000 with shipping? _

Aman once again ignores the message and continues on with his lesson. Once the class is over and all the students are out of the class, Aman calls the person. 

“Why are you texting this number? And what is this 7000 with shipping?” 

“The shoes, aren’t you the one selling Kartik Singh’s accessories?” the person on the other side replies and Aman is seriously going to kill Kartik the next time he sees him. 

“No, I'm not. Don’t text this number again,” Aman says and cuts off the call. 

  
  


_ On the other side,  _

“Kartik, you dumbfuck why didn’t you give me a single call?” Devika says and his mother looks at her with her eyes wide while Kusum tries to muffle her laughter. 

“I’m sorry I forgot,” Kartik says, already exhausted with this conversation. 

“Why are you being like this Kartik?” Devika asks and Kartik just gives her an innocent smile. 

“I’m making some upgrades in your security system,” Devika says and gets up to make some calls. Kartik’s mom watches her go and pulls out a piece of paper once she is far away. 

“I got this from your management company. I know you agreed to pay the penalty for breaking the contract but now they are charging you for the cancelations of brand endorsements as well,” His mom says, handing him the paper. He reads through the contract but he doesn’t remember signing it.

“I didn’t sign this brand deal,” he tells his mom. 

“See, this is what they are giving you for your niceness. Let’s go there tomorrow and have a conversation with them,” His mom says. 

“No, I’ll go there tomorrow with someone else,” he says and gives his mom a smile. Before his mom can complain, Devika returns. 

“The company will be here tomorrow,” Devika informs him and he just rolls his eyes which earns him a slap from Devika.

“So, are you guys leaving now?” Kartik asks when no one makes a move to leave. 

“I’m not leaving,” Kusum says. 

“Okay, Kusum can stay here. I’ll feel safer with her here. Both of you can leave,” Kartik says. 

“If Kusum stays I’m staying-”

“Devika, drop ma on your way back,” Kartik cuts off his mom. Both Devika and his mom get up to leave before his mom stops again, “Did the president from the BH company call you?” 

“No, he hasn’t. Why?” Kartik asks. 

“Thank god. If he calls, tell him off like you children do to me,” His mom says and walks out before Kartik can question her any further.  _ What is this woman up to now?  _

  
  
  


Kartik walks out into his balcony and sees Aman on his own balcony waiting with a cup of something in his hand. 

“Hey, thank you for coming. I need to tell you something,” Kartik says. 

“Before that I need to ask you something. Did you put my number on a shopping site?” Aman says and looks at Kartik with murder in his eyes. Kartik ignores his look and instead asks, “Why, did you get some responses?” 

“Yeah, all I got was negotiable,” Aman says gritting his teeth. 

“Tell them it's not negotiable. I already feel bad for selling away my babies,” Kartik says. 

“You tell them yourself. Take my number off that site,” Aman warns and Kartik just rolls his eyes in reply. 

“But for the reason, I called you here. We need to go to my management office tomorrow,”

“Why do I need to come with you?” Aman asks, finally taking a sip of whatever he was drinking. 

“Because if I go alone they’ll see through me,” Kartik confesses and Aman looks at him. 

“They’ll see that I'm not the same old Kartik. I have lost that charm because of this. Losing money, going broke, losing my apartment, these I can handle. But showing my weak side? Showing people that I'm vulnerable? Those I can't handle. They’ll break me. Completely,” Kartik says, his eyes getting a little wet. Aman can’t see Kartik like that so he thinks of the best way for this. 

  
  


_ The next day,  _

Kartik walks into the president’s office with Rajni reading through the papers in her hand. Kartik sees that the president is sitting there with the company’s lawyer. He gestures Kartik and Rajni to take a seat on the couch on the other side of the table. Kartik and Rajni sit down and the president starts talking. 

“Why are you here for a legal discussion Kartik?” The president asks and Kartik just wants to punch his teeth out. He holds his hand out and Rajni hands him the paper. He places the paper in front of him and asks, “ I didn't sign this brand deal, so why do I have to pay for its cancelation?” 

The president looks a little nervous but still replies, “We signed this on your behalf. And because of you, the company has lost so much because of this scandal. You agreed to pay for those,” the president says with a smug smile and Rajni clears her throat. 

“That’s where you are wrong. See in your own contract, in section 15.3 it clearly states that the company is not allowed to make any decisions for the contractor. This includes signing movie deals, brand deals or other things of similar nature. Moreover, in section 17, it states that if there is a case of third party cancelation, the company is liable to pay off whatever damages are incurred,” Rajni says and Kartik looks at the president with a smug smile of his own while the president looks nervous. 

“Excuse me miss but I have been meaning to ask, who are you?” The president says and Rajni gives him a look, “Is that important right now? But if you need to know, I’m Kartik’s lawyer,” 

“Back to the issue, in section 7, it states that if there is a case of contract cancelation, the company will be liable. In section 3, it says that the company has the responsibility to handle all the scandals that negatively affect the contractor’s mental health,” Rajni then picks up the paper and points at it while saying, “If you want him to pay it, then go ahead and take your case to the court. We are ready to handle it the legal way,” Rajni finishes and the president just takes a sip of water instead of saying anything. 

“Aww the cat caught your tongue?” Kartik says mocking the president. 

  
  
  


Aman is waiting outside the office building with a coffee in hand. Rajni walks over and gives him a high five while Kartik gives him a wave and a smile. Rajni informs him that she has somewhere to be and Aman offers to drive her there but she refuses. Aman and Kartik get inside the car and Aman starts driving. 

“Thank you for today,” Kartik says softly. 

“I didn’t do anything. You should be thanking Rajni,” Aman says, his eyes focused on the road. 

“I met Rajni because of you so first I should be thanking you,” Kartik argues. 

“Instead of thanking me, do me a favor,” Aman says and Kartik hums in reply. 

“Always stay on your toes. The world will never go easy on you. Right now you are on a cliff, one wrong move and you’ll go -”

“I’ll have you to catch me before I fall,” Kartik interrupts and looks at Aman with a soft smile. 

  
  
  


The two make their way out of the elevator. Aman walks over to his door and starts typing in his passcode. 

“How’s your fever?” Kartik asks. 

“It’s not there anymore,” Aman replies. 

“Did you have dinner yet? If not, let's eat at my place, Kusum is there too,” Kartik says. 

“I don’t like eating with people, go home now,” Aman says, opening his door and going in. 

Kartik goes to his apartment and sees Kusum watching  _ Ninja Hattori  _ on tv. 

“Are you a child?” Kartik says and grabs the remote. He tries to turn it off but Kusum grabs his hand and slaps the remote away. 

“Mom left some _ Rajma Chawal _ for us,” Kusum says, picking up the remote. 

“ _ Rajma Chawal _ ?” Kartik says with a weird grin on his face. “Can you go next door and give him some?” 

“No, I’m not going anywhere,” Kusum says and Kartik slaps the back of her head. 

“I said go,” Kartik says and Kusum gets up grumbling. She grabs a box from the bag and starts walking. “Tell him it's from me and that I’m home,” 

  
  
  


Kusum rings the doorbell and Aman opens the door. 

“My extremely lovely brother sent this for you,” Kusum says, handing Aman the box. 

“Thank you,” Aman says and closes the door. 

  
  


Kusum walks into the living room and sees Kartik waiting there with an anxious look on his face. 

“Did you give it to him?” Kartik asks when Kusum sits down on the couch. 

“I did,” Kusum says, concentrating on the tv. 

“And he didn’t say anything?” Kartik asks again. 

“No,” 

“Did you tell him it was from me?” 

“I did,”

“Still he didn’t say anything?” 

“He didn’t,” Kusum yells out annoyed. 

Kartik looks at her and tries to think of some other way. He smiles when he gets the idea. He nudges Kusum with his foot and says, “Didn’t you get the Tupperware back?” 

“I didn’t,” 

“Why didn’t you get it? Do you know how expensive those things are,” 

“I didn’t get it because he didn’t give it back,” 

“Go get it back now,” 

“I’m not going. If you need it, go get it yourself,” 

“Oh should I? Okay I’ll go get it,” Kartik says and runs to his closet pulling out some outfits to change into. 

  
  


Kartik rings the doorbell and waits for Aman to open the door. Aman opens the door and asks, “What now?” 

“The Tupperware, I need that back,” Kartik says and Aman gestures to him to wait. Kartik tries to go inside but Aman closes the door. Kartik looks at the door with his eyes wide.  _ Good thing I know his passcode,  _ Kartik thinks and types in the code. 

Aman is startled when Kartik walks into his apartment. 

“You didn’t change your passcode? That’s nice. I can’t remember mine but I can remember yours for some reason,” Kartik says and looks around. Aman hands him the Tupperware and waits for Kartik to leave.

  
  


Kartik walks into his bedroom and throws himself on his bed. 

“Why am I being like this? Why am I asking for his attention? Do I like him?" Kartik wonders out loud. His eyes go wide when he realizes what he just said. “Oh my god, why am I thinking about that now? I don’t like him,” Kartik debates with himself. “But he has an amazing body, his face is so dreamy, especially with his beard. And that kiss was pretty good for a first kiss,” Kartik continues debating. He buries his head in his pillow trying to sort out his thoughts.

_ I don’t have a crush on him right?  _

  
  


_ On the other side,  _

Shanti walks into the police station with a bag in her hand. She knocks on the door and waits for someone on the other side to let her in. A man opens the door and lets her in. She sees Sandy sitting in front of the computer typing something. She looks up and sees Shanti holding up the bag. She gets up and walks over to Shanti and gives her a hug. 

“I made some dinner and I also brought a change of clothes. Did you need anything else?” Shanti asks and looks around. Everyone is looking at them in awe.

“No, this is enough. Everyone, this is my sister, Shanti Priya,” Sandy says. Everyone says hello and Shanti gives them a smile. 

“Ma’am, can we ask you some things about the Mukesh Mehra suicide case?” the man who Shanti thinks is called Om asks. 

“Sure, I think the first time we met was on the night of the party,” Shanti answers. 

“Do you know if he was dating anyone?” Om asks. 

“Not anyone in my circle. And I wasn't close to Mukesh to ask such things,” Shanti answers with a laugh. 

“It’s no problem. It's just something isn’t adding up here, thank you for cooperating,” Om says. 

“Anytime, I was at the party too. So if you need to know anything then please don’t hesitate to ask,” 

  
  
  


_ Back at the apartment building,  _

Kartik walks out to his balcony and sees Aman waiting on his own balcony looking out at the sky. He looks at Kartik and gives him a smile.  _ Don’t get distracted, Kartik.  _

“I’m just going to come out and ask it, what did you do to me?” Kartik asks. 

“What did I do?” Aman asks. 

“I was the one who was supposed to seduce you in 30 seconds, but it seems as if you seduced you. I just want to know, what do you think of me?” Kartik asks and Aman looks at him with his eyes wide. “No, don’t answer that,” Kartik says and turns around so his back is facing Aman. 

“I’m just going to talk like this, you listen,” Kartik says and doesn’t wait for a reply. “This is very unlike me, I never think about someone. I mean I’m thankful for you being here for me but have I lost my mind that I can't differentiate between gratitude and feeling? I always think of myself first, how I look, my outfits, my perfectly styled hair, but I can’t get your words and that kiss of yours out of my head. Did I fall for you in the middle of this?” Kartik stops to take a deep breath. He gets nothing in reply so he asks, “Aman, are you there?” 

Again he gets nothing so he turns around and sees Aman standing there, the shocked look still present in his face. 

  
  
  


_ But is Kartik ready to hear Aman’s answer?  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thoughts?   
> so what do you think Aman's answer is going to be? are they going to get together after this?   
> well I'll see you guys next time with some answers.  
> thank you so much for reading this  
> till next time <3


	15. Scene 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aman gives his answers, but is the answer what Kartik wanted to hear?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, this is a little messy because so is mind. stay safe out there.

"So you guys know the story till now. What do you think? Does he like me or not?" Kartik says. In front of him, Mannie, Suzy and Red raise their cards. Suzy and Mannie raise the red card while Red raises the green card. 

"Why?" Kartik asks 

“He brought you food when you asked him to, it clearly means he is into you,” Red says. 

“But if he did like you, he’d have said yes,” Suzy says turning Red’s green card into red. 

“It's not easy to confess something like that. Him not replying is a clear sign that he isn’t into you,” Mannie says. 

“But he could just be playing hard to get. You are Kartik Singh, not just some ordinary man,” Red says. 

“Correct, he doesn’t want to look easy by saying yes right away,” Kartik agrees. 

“Exactly, plus you said he saved your life so many times. No one does that these days,” Red says. 

“Wait, I just thought of something,” Mannie says.

“What?” all of them say in unison. 

“You said he saved your life. But how did he know that there was a huge rock on the cliff you were on?” Mannie asks. 

“Wait, I never thought of that,” Kartik says. He is a little shocked that he didn’t question this before. 

“And the dream you had? You said it felt pretty realistic?” Mannie says. 

“What are you trying to get at?” Kartik asks her. 

“I'm thinking, what if he’s your-” Just as Mannie says that Kartik's phone starts ringing. He pulls out his phone to see Shanti Priya’s name on the screen. He picks up the phone with a small hello. 

“Hey Kartik, how are you?” Shanti asks from the other side. 

“I’m good, how about you?” Kartik replies. 

“I’m pretty good too, thank you for asking. But I wanted to ask, are you free today?” 

“I’m a little busy right now, but I'll be free in an hour or so. Why?” 

“I just wanted to talk about something. If you are free, let’s meet up?” 

  
  
  


“Hi Kartik, sorry I'm a little late,” Shanti says as she takes a seat opposite to him. 

“It's no problem,” Kartik says casually sipping on his iced tea. 

“I just got held a little at the shooting,” Shanti says and places her own order. 

“Oh, how is the shooting going?” Kartik asks, trying to make a conversation while they wait for the orders to be prepared. 

“It's going pretty good, we are nearly done. But I surely do miss you on the set,” Shanti says with a small laugh. 

“Oh I'm a joy to be around,” Kartik replies with a laugh of his own. 

“That you definitely are,” Shanti says. 

“So why did you call me here?” Kartik asks. 

“Oh about that, I need to ask you something,” Shanti says and again Kartik’s phone interrupts them. Kartik pulls it out and sees Aman’s name on the screen. 

“Oh, this is a little important, do you mind?” Kartik says. 

“No I don't,” Shanti answers and Kartik picks it up. “Is it your boyfriend or something?” Shanti asks. Kartik covers the speaker and answers, “or something,” 

“Hi,” Kartik says excitedly. 

“Who was that just now?” Aman answers from the other side, his voice sounding extremely anxious. 

“What are you talking about? Are you okay?” Kartik asks. 

“Who are you with right now?” Aman says, his voice sounding calmer than before but still laced with a hint of anxiety. 

“I’m with a friend. Why do you sound scared?” Kartik asks. 

“Who is this friend?” 

“Shanti Priya. You know you sound like an obsessed controlling boyfriend right now?” Kartik says trying to ease the tension. 

“I have heard that voice somewhere,” 

“Of course you have. She is a well-known actress,” 

“No not that,” Aman says, defeated. 

“Is there something you want to tell me Aman?” 

“No, nothing. Just be safe. Don’t get yourself into any trouble,” Aman says. 

“Why are you saying that as if I'm always in trouble?” 

“Because you always are?” 

“Okay rude, but why did you call me?” 

“Why did I what? Oh, I forgot,” 

“Seriously?” Kartik says deadpanned. 

“I’m sorry, I need to go now,” 

“Then go, I need to go back to Shanti too,” 

“Oh, I remembered. I might not be available till tomorrow,” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I’m going up to the hills for a short fishing trip,” 

“And you might not be back till tomorrow? Who are you going with?” 

“Yes and alone,” 

“Alone? I’m going to join you, when are you leaving?” 

“No, you aren’t,” 

“I’ll be back in 20 minutes,” 

“I said you aren’t coming with me,” 

  
  
  
  


“You know a fact?” Kartik says as they drive on the highway. They are on their way to whatever location Aman is going to for his fishing trip. When Aman says nothing in reply, Kartik continues, “I was once voted the number one man everyone in the country would like to marry,” 

Aman focuses on driving instead of replying to Kartik, so he continues with his rant, “I might not be the same man I was before but I was once the number one and I'll again get to number one. And I said something to you a few days back. You haven’t given me an answer and you are also ignoring me. That’s really unbelievable. I mean how could you do this to me? I just don’t-” 

“Do you want to get out?” Aman says, interrupting. 

“But we are in the middle of a highway,” Kartik asks confused. 

“Exactly,” Aman says and Kartik finally shuts up. 

  
  
  


“Oh my god. How did you find this place?” Kartik says running around in the snow. Aman ignores him and uses a stick to make a hole in the ice to start fishing. Kartik continues running around and screaming like a child while Aman ignores him setting up his fishing equipment. 

“This place is so nice, there is no one around. This is really so freeing,” Kartik screams and falls on the ground. He lays there for a moment, he really feels refreshed. After being locked up in his apartment for days, being here makes him extremely happy. He smiles and closes his eyes letting himself melt into the snow. 

After a while, he gets up and starts sliding on the snow. He does a few tricks like a figure skater making himself laugh.

“I really should have tried figure skating, look I’m so good,” he says as he slides next to Aman. “Are you making coffee? Can you make one for me too?” Kartik says and tries to slide off again but Aman catches his wrist and pulls him back. 

“Did you really come here to get my answer to your question?” Aman says. Kartik looks at him and shakes his head. “I wanted to be with you,” Kartik replies in a small voice. “But, I won’t mind knowing your answer too,” 

“Okay, I thought I gave you my answer. But it seems as if I didn't make it clear enough for you. I don’t like you, I have never thought about you in that way,” Aman answers and Kartik can feel his heartbreaking. 

“Then why, why did you help me? Why did you say those things to me?” Kartik says, with his voice getting heavy. His eyes start getting a little wet. 

“Because I pitied you. At first, I thought it might be fun because you are a celebrity. I thought celebrities had a little pride. But if I knew you were going to be like this, I wouldn’t have said anything,” Aman answers, his voice not sounding even a bit guilty as he spills venom out of his mouth. Kartik doesn’t believe a single thing that Aman is saying. 

“What do you want me to do now?” Kartik asks, tears falling down his cheek. 

“Get out of my sight,” Aman says looking at Kartik with a neutral expression. 

“But, why do I feel like you’re lying to me?” Kartik says and pulls his hand out of Aman’s hold. He turns his back to Aman and walks away from him. 

Once he is at a fair distance, he sits down and breaks. He lets all the tears he had been holding in, fall down. He is in the middle of his sobbing when he calls the only other person he can trust. 

“Kartik, what are you doing here? Why are you crying?” Devika says and helps him get inside the car. Kartik tells her the entire story and she asks where Aman is so she can punch some sense into him. 

“Is this how you felt?” Kartik asks instead of replying to Devika’s question. Devika smiles at the bittersweet story Kartik is referring to. 

“You rejected me in front of the entire school,” Devika says. 

“I can only imagine how embarrassed you probably were,” Kartik says. 

“It’s okay, I’m over it anyway. But to answer your question, yes. It still hurts sometimes, but at least I still have you in my life,” Devika says. 

“Thank you, talking to you made me feel better,” Kartik says and gives his best friend a small smile. 

“You might feel better now, but um you might get a sudden sorrow attack in the middle of the night,” 

“A sorrow attack?” 

“Yeah, you’ll want to drink your sorrows away, don’t you dare do that. You’ll probably also get an urge to call him, please don’t do that. That shit is extremely annoying. And the final and most important piece, do not listen to sad songs,” Devika says, more like warning him. 

“It scares me how well you know these things,” Kartik says, his tears finally stopping. “Thank you, for everything,” Devika just gives him a smile in return. 

  
  
  
  


_ Back at Kartik’s apartment somewhere around midnight,  _

Kartik starts kicking his feet in the air, unable to shake out Aman’s words. He gets up from his bed and walks over to the fridge. His hand hovers over the bottle of beer. He remembers Devika’s warning,  _ but one won’t hurt right?  _

  
  


Kartik wakes up with a killer hangover and no memory of whatever happened last night. His throat feels dry so he gets up and goes to grab a glass of water. He walks out of the kitchen and sees Kusum in her school dress getting ready to leave. 

“Are you going to school?” He asks, stifling a yawn. 

“Yes, I realized how important studying is,” Kusum answers. 

“Wow, is today real? I never thought I'd live to hear that,” Kartik answers. 

“Yeah, I realized it after seeing you last night. I’ll get going now,” Kusum says and walks out before Kartik can ask what he did last night. He ignores her and walks into the living room. His head rings as his memory comes back. He sees himself on top of the coffee table with a beer bottle in hand. 

“Accha chalta hoon

Duaaon mein yaad rakhna

Mere zikr ka zubaan pe swaad rakhna,” Drunk Kartik on top of the coffee table belts out and Current Kartik watching this is scared. He looks at the sofa and sees Drunk Kartik sitting on the floor. 

  
  


“Channa mereya mereya

Channa mereya mereya

Channa mereya mereya Beliya

O piya…” Drunk Kartik on the floor sings using the beer bottle as his microphone. He looks at the sofa and sees a Kartik there. 

“Aman, why. Why Aman Tripathi,” Drunk Kartik cries falling on the floor. Kartik seeing all of this is terrified of what else he did last night. He runs to his bedroom and grabs his cell phone from the bed. He unlocks it and opens up his call app. He sees the last call he made and falls on the floor. On his phone, it says, 

_ Manager Aman (25) 2:43 _

He clicks on the number and scrolls down. 

_ Manager Aman _

_ Outgoing call at 2:43 _

_ Outgoing call at 2:43 _

_ Outgoing call at 2:43 _

_ Outgoing call at 2:43 _

_ Outgoing call at 2:43 _

_ Outgoing call at 2:43 _

_ Outgoing call at 2:43 _

_ Outgoing call at 2:43 _

_ Outgoing call at 2:42 _

He looks on the bed and sees a Drunk Kartik there holding the cellphone. He clicks on the screen and places it on his ear. He cannot hear the operator but Drunk Kartik pulls away and starts screaming, “Why aren’t you picking up? Mere liye liya tha na phone? Ab utha kyun nahi rahe ho?” Drunk Kartik throws the cellphone on the bed and falls on it. Current Kartik thinks that must be the end but drunk Kartik wakes up with a creepy smile on his face. “Tujhe kya laga, tu nahi uthayega toh main call hi nahi karunga? Oh boy you’re mistaken,” Drunk Kartik says and starts pressing on the screen. “Aman, phone utha,” Drunk Kartik screams. Current Kartik looks at his phone again and opens the WhatsApp app. He clicks on his messages with Aman and is horrified with the things he sees there.  _ (why aren’t you picking up? You bought a phone for me then why aren’t you answering?) (Did you really think that I won’t call you if you don’t pick up? Oh boy you’re mistaken) (Aman, pick up.) _

_ Me: kutte ke bacche, phone kyun nahi utha raha hai? (You jerk, why aren’t you picking up the phone?) _

_ Me: tujhe tere mummy papa ne yehi sikhaya hai? (did your parents raise you like this?) _

_ Me: i hope fish tujhe pakad ke tujhe fry kare (i hope the fish catches you and fries you instead) _

_ Me: accha ek baar phirse sochle na (okay, let’s rethink it once) _

_ Me: i’ll try to be better _

_ Me: yeh sab hamari first meeting ki wajah se hai? (you are doing this because of our first meeting right?) _

_ Me: chal sorry uske liye (okay I’m sorry about that) _

_ Me: chal hum dono Ganga kinare chalte hai (let’s go the Ganga's bank together) _

Kartik sees the series of emojis he sent after that and cringes. He drops his phone on the floor and grabs his hair pulling on it. He finally gains strength and walks over to the washroom to freshen up. As he is brushing his teeth, he sees his reflection in the mirror and is reminded of another memory. 

Drunk Kartik bangs on Aman’s door with a pair of shoes in hand.  _ The same black shoes with golden detailing.  _ A sleepy Aman answers the door and before he can say anything, Drunk Kartik shoves the shoes in his face. 

“Yeh jutte, tujhe pasand hai na?” Drunk Kartik cries out. “Itne pasand hai ki tune iske bhai ko chura liya,”  _ (These shoes, you liked them right?) (So much so that you stole the other ones) _

“Yeh le, yeh bhi rakh le, hamari yaadon wale jutte,” Drunk Kartik cries and falls on the floor.  _ (Keep these too, these shoes that have our memory) _

“Hamari yaadon wale jutte,” Drunk Kartik cries from the floor. Current Kartik feels his knees weakening at the memory and holds on the wall for support. He bangs his head against the same wall promising himself to never touch a single drop of alcohol ever again.  _ (These shoes with our memories) _

  
  
  


Kartik is still wallowing in self-pity when his doorbell rings. He drags himself out of the sofa towards the door. He looks through the peephole and sees a man standing there. He opens the door a little and asks, “Hello, who are you?” 

“Oh Mr. Singh, hello,” the man says. Kartik doesn’t open the door to let him in. The man understands what Kartik is doing and answers, “I was sent by Director Khan, she said to give you this script,” the man says, handing him a file. 

“A script?” Kartik says and takes the file. 

“Yes, she is doing an action movie. She was looking for an actor to play the role and Ms. Shanti Priya suggested your name,” the man says. 

“Oh thank you,” he says and the man bids him a farewell. Kartik closes the door and walks into the living room. He opens the file and starts reading the script. He is fairly intrigued by the role and feels as if this might be the right step into reviving his career. 

_ This script might be the best way to change his life. Two people think, both with different intentions.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Click on the next chapter, I have an interlude for you.


	16. Interlude: Aman’s Desire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aman's thoughts as Kartik walks away from him during the fishing scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> makes sure to read Scene 14 first.

_ Do you ever think what it's like growing old with someone? I want that, with you.  _

_ I want to be woken up by you, preferably with a soft kiss after which I pull you back into the bed and complain about it being too early.  _

_ I want to cook you breakfast while you talk my ear off about everything and nothing.  _

_ I want to come home with a bag full of stuff that you request with that soft voice of yours.  _

_ I want to eat dinner with you while you complain about not having anything to watch with it.  _

_ I want to live my entire life with you right next to me.  _

_ But for now, all I want is for you to stop.  _

_ Yes, I was lying.  _

_ Please don’t get out of my sight.  _

_ I can’t bear to see you leave.  _

_ Right now, all I wish is to stop the time.  _

_ Stop the time so you stop walking away from me.  _

_ Stop the time so everything can just be as it is.  _

_ Stop the time so I can walk over to you and kiss you.  _

_ All I want is you.  _

_ You, Kartik Singh.  _

_ All I want is you.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't have anything to say today lol.  
> so please leave your thoughts in the comments below. I'll be back with another chapter when i can  
> thank you so much for reading and i love every single of you <3


	17. Scene 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the days which led up to Kartik's first day on set.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all of your answers are here, or maybe most of them?   
> pleathe enjoy :)   
> also this fic is about to hit 1.2k hits so thank you sooo much for the love <3

Kartik takes a step towards the edge of the wall they have set up for him to jump from. The wires are securely tied around him. He looks down at where the mats are placed for him to land safely and takes a deep breath. He whispers something underneath his breath and jumps. As he reaches to the middle, he hears the sound of something breaking and looks up. Before he can process what’s happening, his body is slammed against the wall and he slides down. 

  
  


The ambulance’s sound is loud as they reach the hospital. The doctors walk out rolling a stretcher with them. They open the ambulance door and wheel out Kartik’s unconscious body. He has small wounds all over his face. The doctors lift his body and wheel him inside the emergency center. 

  
  


_ On the other side,  _

Goggle sits in the empty room inside the police station surrounded by the monitors.  _ He’s gone crazy,  _ is the only thing that is playing in her mind. She puts her head in her hands and starts sobbing. 

  
  


_ But how did things get to this point?  _

  
  


_ Two days before the accident,  _

“There is no way they can edit this footage,” the man says to Om. 

“Are you sure?” Om asks the man and looks at Sandy. 

“Yes, this is the raw footage. There is no way this can be edited,” The man answers. 

“Thank you,” Sandy says and the man nods. 

“So that Aman was lying,” Om says to Sandy. 

“He was,” Sandy says nodding. 

“So let’s get him to come in again for questioning,” Om says. 

  
  
  


“He said he’ll be here tomorrow or the day after,” Om says and Sandy nods. “Are you okay? You seem way too distracted today,” 

“Huh? Yeah, I’m good. I just don’t know. I have a feeling that something really bad is about to happen,” 

  
  
  


_ A day before the accident,  _

Aman walks out of the classroom and jumps out of his skin when he sees a man standing there dressed in all black. His face is covered with a mask and his hair is covered with a hat. When Aman looks at him, the man lowers his face and gives him a wave. Aman decides to ignore him and walks past him but the man starts following him. 

“Why are you ignoring me?” Kartik asks once he catches up to Aman. Aman ignores him again and continues walking. 

“Stop walking,” Kartik says, still following him. 

“Why are you dressed like you are about to rob a bank?” Aman asks, finally slowing down. 

“I’m trying to not be seen in public,” Kartik says. 

“Then why did you come here?” 

“Because I still have some questions and you weren’t answering your phone,” 

“What do you want to ask?” 

“Not here,” Kartik replies and looks around to see everyone staring at them weirdly. “Let’s go out somewhere to eat,” 

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Aman says and walks away but Kartik continues following them. 

  
  
  


“So you were only with me because you thought it would be interesting to be with a celebrity?” Kartik asks as the two of them walk along the beachside. 

“Didn’t I already answer that?” Aman says but his heart and mind disagree. 

“But, was that really all?” Kartik asks and stops walking. He looks at Aman who also stops. 

“Yeah, it was all because I thought it would be interesting,” Aman lies.  _ No, it wasn’t. It started because of my dreams, but somewhere in between saving your life, I changed. _

“So you never felt anything for me?” Kartik asks. 

“Nothing except for pity,”  _ and affection, the need to protect you, the need to always be next to you, everything. I felt all of that for you.  _

“You never liked me, even for a moment?” 

Aman thinks back to the time when Kartik stayed at his apartment when the media was camping outside his house.  _ They were standing in the balcony looking at the hoarding board with Kartik’s face on it. Kartik was standing too close to him so he reminded Kartik of the one-meter rule but Kartik moved too far for his liking. He unconsciously started moving closer to him.  _

“Your heart never fluttered because of me?” 

Aman is now reminded of the “seduction kiss”.  _ The feel of Kartik’s soft lips against his. The way he lost control by just staring at Kartik’s face for 30 seconds. How powerless he felt as he let his heart take control of his mind. His heart felt as if it was about to rip out of his chest and into the ground.  _

“You never worried about me?” 

Aman thinks back to all the times his dreams were on the verge of coming true.  _ The moment Kartik was about to fall off the cruise. The moment when the glass bowl was about to hit Kartik on the head. The moment his car was about to fall off that cliff. All these come to mind and so does the panic.  _

“You never once liked me as just Kartik and not actor Kartik?”

_ I didn’t even know actor Kartik. I only know you as Kartik. The Kartik who shows up drunk at other’s apartments, the Kartik who lands in the hospital because of his drinking, the Kartik who is obsessed with TV serials, the Kartik who loves food more than his life, the Kartik whose sister means the world to him. That is who I know.  _

“You never once pictured your future with me?” 

_ I did. I pictured it. I want it to be real. I want everything with you. But I can’t.  _

“Do you really want to know the answers?” Aman asks when Kartik stops his questioning. 

“Yeah,” Kartik says looking at him. Aman notices his eyes are a little wet. But no matter how much it pains him to see Kartik like that, Aman knows this has to be done so that Kartik can move on. 

“Never. Not once,” Aman answers. He can hear both of their hearts breaking with each word he says. “Is it really that important to you?” 

“What? The fact that a guy I like, or maybe I should say I liked, doesn’t like me back?” Kartik asks with a scoff. “Pathetic, right? But yes, this is important to me. Or maybe it was. Because I give up now,”

“Well, that’s a good idea,” Aman says with a straight face trying his hardest not to break down there. Kartik gives him a nod and faces away from him. 

“I’m sorry for bothering you, Aman. it won’t happen again,” Kartik says and Aman doesn’t know how he is still standing and not falling on his knees, begging Kartik to forgive him. “I don’t think it will happen, but if I call you or visit you, just tell me off like you always do. And if we ever cross paths, just pretend we’re strangers,” 

With that Kartik walks away while Aman stands there trying to think of a way to undo all of this. 

_ But it is for the best.  _

  
  


_ The day of the accident,  _

Kartik is all dressed up and trying to do a little bit of makeup when he gets a call from the director asking him to not wear any makeup as they were shooting action scenes today and wanted him to have a fresh face. He changes into some casual clothing and walks out of his room to see his mom waiting for him. 

“Why does your face look so dull? Why aren’t you wearing any makeup?” she asks and offers him a cup of tea. 

“We are shooting an action scene, I'll be rolling around in mud all day,” Kartik answers and grabs a piece of bread. 

“How are we going to get there? Should I call Devika for help?” his mom asks. 

“Why would you call Devika when I have a perfectly functioning car and a driving license?” Kartik asks with a scoff. 

“Where is Manager Aman?” his mom asks and Kartik stills for a moment. He snaps back to reality and continues as if nothing happened. 

“We aren’t working together anymore,” is all Kartik says and finishes his breakfast. 

  
  


The two walk out of his apartment only to see Aman waiting near the elevator. Kartik puts on his sunglasses and walks over to the elevator. His mom catches up to him and asks Aman, “did Kartik make you quit, or did you leave?” 

Aman looks at him first and then looks at his mom. Before he can answer, the elevator door opens and both of them try to go into it at the same time. Kartik stops and says, “Can you let me go in first? It’d be awkward for us to go in at the same time,” 

Aman takes a step back and Kartik enters the elevator with his mom following him. 

“Did you guys fight or something? Do you want me to talk to him? I mean that is just unacceptable” his mom asks. Kartik takes off his sunglasses and reveals his eyes which were filled with tears. 

“Mom, please don’t bother that man,” Kartik answers. 

“What?” his mom asks, her eyes wide as she hears her son’s heavy voice. 

“I like him, a lot. So I asked him out and got rejected,” Kartik answers. 

“Have you lost your mind?” 

“And it’s hard for me to give up. I mean just now, I could barely keep myself from clinging onto him. So please don’t bother him,” Kartik says and lets the tears fall free. 

“Are you really crying? That too over a man?” 

“Yeah, I’m crying. I’m crying miserably over a man,” Kartik says. He doesn’t bother wiping the tears, just letting them fall freely all over his face. 

  
  
  


Aman starts walking towards the police station only to be stopped by Goggle who comes and stands in front of him. 

“I’m not letting you make this dumb decision,” Goggle says blocking his way. 

“It’s not a dumb decision,” Aman answers and tries to move past her. 

“How is it not a dumb idea to reveal whatever happened at the night of the party after hiding it for so long?” 

“Because there is no other way. They have CCTV footage evidence. The least I can do is reveal whatever happened that night so at least the truth can be out there” 

“You will get caught in the middle. I can’t bear to lose you” 

“And I can’t bear to lose Kartik” 

“Haven’t you already lost him though?” 

“At least I can have the satisfaction that no one is trying to harm him. He deserves to be happy, Goggle. And having his career back can give him that happiness” 

“And what about you?” 

“Well, I know an amazing lawyer who can get me out of the legal trouble” 

  
  
  


Aman and Goggle sit in the room with cameras surrounding them. 

“Now, everything you say and do will be recorded and can be used against you. Do we have your permission to proceed?” Om asks, picking up a notebook. 

“Yes,” Goggle answers and Aman starts. 

  
  


_ The night of the party,  _

Aman arrives at Goggle’s apartment. He did as she told and got there without raising any suspicion. 

“What’s the plan?” Aman asks as soon as Goggle opens the door. She holds out her coat and phone which Aman takes while Goggle locks up her apartment. 

“Let’s take the service elevator, they don’t have a CCTV camera there,” Goggle says and ties her hair up. 

“What kind of dumb idea was it to not put a CCTV on the service elevator,” Aman says and follows Goggle. Once they get inside the car and start driving, Goggle briefs him about the plan. 

“One of my friends is working at this cruise party as a marriage officiant for the couple. I called him and asked him if you can join him,” Goggle says. 

“But wait, how did they agree to this without any sort of ID or stuff?” Aman asks and starts driving. 

“That’s not something you should worry about. He sent me the location where he’ll be waiting. Go meet him and hide from the CCTV. Find Kartik and get him to a safe spot. Get out as soon as you are done. Don’t bring any attention to yourself,” Goggle says. 

“How would I know where the CCTVs are?” Aman asks. 

“Okay that’s true. Um just get into the cruise and hide somewhere?” Goggle says but it comes out like a question. 

“You really didn’t think this plan through?” Aman asks and rolls his eyes but doesn’t stop driving. 

“I’m sorry I haven’t trespassed into a celebrity wedding party before,” Goggle replies in panic. 

“Okay don’t panic. I’ll try to be as stealthy as possible,” Aman says and finally reaches his destination. 

  
  
  


Goggle’s friend meets him at the entrance and gives him a coat. Aman raises an eyebrow in question and the man answers saying that the coat will hide his body and ruffles his hair so that it partially covers his face. The officiant wishes him good luck and Aman is really confused as to what Goggle told him. 

_ I have more important things to worry about.  _ Aman thinks and hides his face in the lapels of the coat. He starts walking around and looking for Kartik but doesn’t find him anywhere. There are noises coming from a room so Aman assumes that everyone is in there. He runs and hides in one of the empty rooms inside the cruise waiting for everyone to come out from the room. 

Once the cruise starts moving, everyone in the room comes out and takes their seats. Aman looks and spots Kartik sitting at the table with a woman. Aman sees Kartik already trying to drown himself in alcohol and thinks about how he isn’t going to help him this time when he ends up in the hospital. He notices the server bringing food to their table and suddenly all of their faces look like they’d like to be anywhere but there.  _ Yeah, that dumb asshole probably said something dumb.  _

Aman tries to come up with a way to get Kartik to a safe spot when he sees that everyone is going back to the room where they previously were. Aman walks out of the room he is hiding in and looks around. When he looks at the top of the cruise, he feels a sort of deja vu. It clicks on why that happened. Aman climbs to the place and looks around.  _ This is where I saw him fall.  _

Once again people start walking out of the room and Aman hides behind a pole-like thing. He doesn’t know what’s about to happen but he waits there. After a while of waiting, he hears footsteps coming upstairs and ducks under the pole. He looks from the side and sees a man stumbling with a glass of whiskey in hand. He looks at the man’s feet and notices the shoes.  _ It's Kartik,  _ his mind supplies and just then a wave passes by. Aman gets up from his spot and sees Kartik on the edge just about to fall. Aman reaches out his hand and pulls Kartik towards him. 

He notices that Kartik has passed out. Whether it was from the near-death experience or the alcohol, Aman doesn’t know. And he doesn’t have the time to care. He pulls off his coat and wraps it around Kartik. He looks around to find a way to get Kartik downstairs into a room without anyone finding them but sees that the cruise is still full of people. He sits on the ground and pulls Kartik’s body so that it is leaning against him. 

After a while, the cruise gets a little emptier and Aman carries Kartik in bridal style. He slowly starts climbing down the stairs and looks around. The people who are still on the cruise are slowly making their way towards the exit. Aman carries Kartik into the room and puts him on the bed. Kartik slowly regains consciousness and looks at Aman.  _ Oh shit, how do I explain this now?  _

“So I have been thinking so much about you that now you’re coming in my dreams too,” Kartik says with a soft smile. Aman just looks at him with his eyes wide and tries to pull his arm away from under his head. 

“I think I should just listen to everyone and get married. I’m having dirty dreams at the age of 30,” Kartik speaks up again. Just as Aman is about to reply, Kartik places a finger on his lips to shut him up.

“Now that you are here already, I might as well do this,” Kartik speaks softly.

He loops his arms around Aman’s neck and pulls him down. He stares into Aman’s wide eyes and just gives him a soft smile before pressing his lips against Aman’s. 

He passes out right after that. Aman manages to get his arm away from Kartik’s head and walks out of the room. He hears noises coming from nearby and moves closer to hear it. 

“I-I don’t know how i-it happened but I-I didn’t intend o-on it,” he hears the person say. He doesn’t know who this person is but it definitely sounds like a woman’s voice. He can’t hear the reply so he assumes the person must be on the phone. “We had a fight and I pushed him off,” the woman says again and Aman hears noises coming towards him. He stops listening and walks out of there. He looks around for Goggle’s friend but cannot find him. He decides to not leave without him. He calls Goggle and Goggle picks him up from where she dropped him. 

“You didn’t get caught right?” Goggle asks. 

“Hopefully not,” Aman says. He thinks about the conversation he overheard but doesn’t mention it to Goggle. 

_ Back to the present day,  _

“In hindsight, I should have mentioned this to her so we could have gotten the killer arrested earlier,” Aman finishes. 

“Who was it?” Om asks. Just as Aman is about to answer, someone barges in and says, “Kartik Singh had an accident on set,” Aman looks at him with his eyes wide. He gets up from his seat and makes a run for it ignoring whatever the officers and Goggle are saying. He stops for a moment, looks at the officers, and says, “it was Shanti Priya.” with that, he makes his way out of the police station. 

_ I can’t believe I failed in saving you.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> to everyone who guessed it, congratulations.   
> also, thoughts?   
> i'd love to know your thoughts and theories.   
> as always, i appreciate your love for this fic so please keep it coming. it really does make my day 
> 
> till next time :)


	18. Scene 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kartik realizes something before the accident. More revelations happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said the wait won't be long but I updated this late so I'm sorry   
> but without any further ado, enjoy the chapter! 🤍

_ ‘I remember the day before my first ever shoot, papa said to me, “Kartik, whenever you feel afraid, just take the name of the person who you know will protect you no matter what. That will give you the strength you need,” with a smile on his face. That day, I took my father’s name. But once he left, I gave up on the hope that taking his name would give me strength. Since then, I haven't taken anyone’s name. Because no one will protect me. I’m alone.  _

_ But boy was I wrong. That one fateful day, you dared to enter the elevator at the same time as me. At that time, I didn’t think we’d reach this point but I’m very glad we did. You were always there for me. You saved my life so many times. I can’t believe I took this long to realize this but I don’t think there could be a better time than this.’  _

_ “I love you, Aman Tripathi,” _

Kartik whispers and jumps off the wall. As he reaches to the middle, he hears the sound of something breaking and looks up. Before he can process what’s happening, his body is slammed against the wall. Everyone at the set watches as his body falls to the ground but only one person runs to catch him. The person catches his body but the force causes them to roll away from the mat which causes Kartik’s head to hit the floor. 

Everyone runs towards them to check up on the two and they realize that the both of them are unconscious. They call the ambulance and wait for the ambulance to arrive. Kartik’s mom shakes her son to wake him up while she cries. The other person’s team takes on the helmet they were wearing and inspects their wounds. The ambulances arrive to take the both of them to the hospital. 

The ambulance’s sound is loud as they reach the hospital. The doctors walk out rolling a stretcher with them. They open the ambulance door and wheel out Kartik’s unconscious body. They notice that he has small wounds all over his face. The doctors lift his body and wheel him inside the emergency center. While a separate group of doctors go over to the other ambulance and take the other person’s body to the emergency center. Kartik’s mom and the other person’s team go to the reception to register their names. 

“We are here to register Kartik Singh and Shanti Priya, they had an accident on set,” 

  
  


“Who was it?” Om asks. Just as Aman is about to answer, someone barges in and says, “Kartik Singh had an accident on set,” Aman looks at him with his eyes wide. He gets up from his seat and makes a run for it ignoring whatever the officers and Goggle are saying. He stops for a moment, looks at the officers, and says, “It was Shanti Priya.” With that, he makes his way out of the police station. 

Sandy and Om look at the officer for more information but he just says, “Sandy ma’am your sister was also in this accident, she is admitted to the hospital too,” Sandy panics and immediately gets up from her spot. She opens her mouth to ask Om if he needs any help in sorting everything out but Om stops her. “I know how to deal with it, you go. Your sister needs you,” 

Sandy gives him a grateful smile and runs out of there. 

Aman arrives at the hospital and makes his way to the reception. He sees a nurse there barking instructions on the phone and asks, “Kartik Singh, where is he?” The nurse gestures to him to wait and cuts the call with one last instruction. “And who might you be?” she asks, giving him a suspicious look. 

“Why does that matter right now? Please tell me where he is, I need to see him,” Aman begs. 

“It matters because Mr. Singh is a celebrity who just had an accident. We can’t tell anyone where he is,” the nurse replies and Aman understands. He looks down and spots the ring he is wearing and gets an idea. He pulls out his ring and places it on his ring finger and raises his hand. “I’m his fiancé, will you tell me where he is now?” Aman asks and the nurse gives him a ‘are you serious look?’ 

“So you are the first to claim to be his fiancé. Since he came, about 5 boyfriends and 7 husbands have come to claim. How can I know you are any different?” the nurse says and Aman bangs his head on the stand. 

“Please, believe me. I need to see him,” Aman begs again but the nurse ignores him. 

“Nurse, is the blood arranged?” he hears a familiar voice and turns on his side to see Kartik’s mom standing there with her eyes red from crying and the panic evident in her voice. 

“No ma’am we are trying,” the nurse replies and gives her a sympathetic smile. “Oh, this young man here is claiming to be his fiancé, is it true?” she asks pointing at Aman. She turns to face him and her eyes widen. 

“You, why are you here?” Kartik’s mom asks, seeming angry with him. 

“What is his blood group?” Aman asks in a soft voice. 

“AB negative, the rarest blood type,” the nurse answered, defeated.

“I have an O negative blood type. Universal donor,” Aman answers. The nurse’s face lights up and Kartik’s mom looks at the both of them confused. 

“What does that mean?” Kartik’s mom asks. 

“But sir, only family members can donate blood at this time. None of them matched so we are looking into blood banks for now,” the nurse answers once she realizes. 

“He is Kartik’s fiancé. Can he give his blood now?” Kartik’s mom asks and the nurse nods. 

“We need to do a small test. Please wait here, sir. I’ll call the nurses,” the nurse says and Aman agrees. 

“Thank you so much,” he hears Kartik’s mom say and he walks over to her. He takes her hand and looks at her with a sympathetic smile. “Anything for him,” Aman says and he realizes that he really  _ means it.  _

Aman walks out from the room taking a sip of the juice they gave him after they finished taking his blood. When he walks outside, he spots Kusum waiting there. She spots him too and walks over to him. 

“You’re okay right?” she asks. 

“Yeah, I am. Where is Kartik?” Aman asks, looking at her. 

“I’ll take you to him,” she replies and gestures to him to follow her. They make their way into the room where Kartik is. When Aman walks in, he spots Kartik on the bed, sleeping peacefully. His mom is sitting on the sofa crying silently. He walks over to Kartik and sits on the chair placed next to the bed. He takes Kartik’s hand which doesn’t have the IV on his own and rubs circles with his thumb. 

“He isn’t in danger anymore,” he hears Kartik’s mom say and sighs out in relief. “He hasn’t woken up yet but the doctors estimate that he’ll wake up in a few hours,” 

“They also said that the accident could have been fatal if Miss Shanti didn’t save him,” Kusum says and Aman stills. 

“Miss Shanti saved him?” Aman asks in disbelief. 

“Yeah, she jumped in the middle and grabbed him before he could fall. The doctors said that the force of the fall was intense. If she hadn’t done that, Kartik would have broken a few bones or even could have,” Kusum stops there and takes a deep breath. Aman realizes what she is trying to say and clutches Kartik’s hand tighter. 

“Is she okay?” Aman asks. 

“Yeah, she is. She could have been seriously hurt too but she was wearing a helmet,” Kusum says and Aman nods. 

“Can we go see her?” Aman asks. He wants to thank her for saving Kartik’s life. Maybe he assumed wrong about her. Maybe she wasn’t the one who sent all those things to Kartik and tried to hurt him. Maybe it was a Mukesh Mehra fan who was mad at Kartik for supposedly killing their idol. 

“Yeah, let’s go. I think she is on the floor above this one,” Kusum says. Aman places a soft kiss on Kartik’s hand which causes Kartik’s mom and Kusum to smile. 

_ On the other side,  _

Sandy walks into Shanti’s hospital room and sees a nurse wrapping up her hand with bandages. After that, she hands her a bottle of water and a pill. Shanti takes the pill and the nurse walks out of the room. Sandy walks over to her bed and Shanti gives her a smile. 

“Are you okay?” Sandy asks her, taking a seat next to her bed. 

“Yeah, I’m not hurting anymore. The pain killer helped a lot,” Shanti says sitting up on the bed. 

“That’s great. But why did you jump in?” Sandy asks without wasting any more time. 

“Oh come on, can you just be my sister Sandy for a moment and not detective Sandy?” 

“But I need to know. If I don’t know, how will I help you?” Sandy asks. She is near to losing her mind. 

“I jumped in to save him, what else do you think?” Shanti asks. She realizes that Sandy is getting serious now. 

“So you had no hand in the accident?” Sandy asks. 

“Nope, it wasn’t me,” Shanti replies. 

“You didn’t hire anyone?” Sandy asks. 

“Um, I might have?” Shanti replies with a sheepish smile. 

“Shanti I swear to god, please be serious for a moment,” Sandy replies, frustrated with her sister. 

“Yes I did hire someone, now can we stop? I need to rest,” Shanti says and faces away from her. 

“Someone heard our conversation. On the night of the party, someone heard you,” Sandy reveals and Shanti stops. She turns around to face her and looks at her in panic. “So you need to tell me, whatever happened. Everything,” 

“I hired someone. One time I starred in an action thriller, they told me that the pulley they used is extremely strong and doesn’t cause accidents easily. But he also told me if any of the bolts weren’t tightened properly, it could cause an accident depending on where the bolt was loose. The person I hired had some ideas about this thing,” Shanti says. 

“Okay I get that. But why did you save him?” Sandy asks. 

“I wasn’t trying to save him. I thought that landing on the mat wouldn’t hurt him so I wanted to push him towards the ground. But he ended up grabbing on to me. I should have just stayed in my place and not done anything,” Shanti says angrily. 

“So you did that to harm him more and not because you regretted it?” Sandy asks, trying to understand herself. She doesn’t want to scream at her sister who just had an accident but she is really testing Sandy’s patience right now. 

“Of course not, he knows too much Sandy. But now there is someone who knows more than him? What do I do? Do you think I can pay him off? Do I need to threaten him? How do I do this?” Shanti says panicking. She starts breathing heavily and Sandy realizes that Shanti is having a panic attack. She calls the nurses who ask her to get out. She takes one last look at her sister and walks out of the room. 

_ I’m sorry Shanti, but I think it's time to stop you.  _

_ On the same floor,  _

“She was the one who was trying to harm my brother,” Kusum sobs into Aman’s shirt as he rubs her hair trying to calm her down. 

“I’m so sorry, Kusum,” Aman says. 

“Did you know?” she asks, looking at him with her eyes filled with tears. 

“I had a rough idea. I didn’t know for sure,” Aman says. Kusum just buries her face in his shirt and cries harder. 

“So you heard our conversation again?” Aman hears a voice ask and sees Sandy standing there. Kusum looks at her too and Aman realizes that she has a look of pure fury on her face. Before she can walk over and cause any harm to her, Aman stops her. He moves to stand in front of her as a barrier between them. 

“I know you are angry at me for trying to protect my sister. I’m extremely sorry,” Sandy apologies but both Aman and Kusum aren’t buying it. “I know there is no reason for you to believe me, but I need help,” 

“What kind of help?” Aman asks suspiciously. 

“Help in giving Shanti what she deserves,” Sandy replies. Aman looks at Kusum who looks at him with a curious expression. 

“So what’s the plan?” Aman asks and looks at Sandy who gives him a grateful smile.

Aman and Kusum return to Kartik’s room. Kartik’s mom asks him how Shanti is and it takes everything in Aman to stop himself from revealing what Shanti did to her son. Instead, he just tells her that she is fine. One of the nurses enters and tells them that the visiting hours are finished and only one family member can stay back with Kartik. Kartik’s mom opts to be the person who stays with him and asks Aman to take Kusum with him. Aman agrees and leaves with Kusum after they both say their goodbyes. 

Once they reach the apartment complex, Aman asks Kusum to stay at his apartment. Kusum agrees and goes to grab her things from Kartik’s apartment. Aman goes in and prepares the couch for him to sleep on. Kusum comes into his apartment and Aman lets her know that she can sleep in his room. 

At around midnight, Aman is woken up by Kusum shaking him awake. He recounts whatever happened that day and looks at Kusum. 

“You were screaming. Were you having a nightmare?” Kusum asks and Aman tries to remember what he dreamt about. When he remembers all the moments, he puts his head in his hands and starts crying. “Aman, is everything okay?” 

“I just saw Kartik’s accident, the one that happened today” Aman says in between his sobs. 

“What do you mean by that?” Kusum asks and Aman realizes that it is about time he tells someone else about his dreams. He tells her everything. From the dreams about the shoes to the latest dreams about Kartik’s on-set accident. 

“How have you been living with that for all this time?” Kusum asks, her own eyes filled with tears. 

“I don’t know. But all this time I thought it was just dreams. But once all of this started happening, I got scared. I thought this was happening because I was with Kartik so I tried to get him to go away from me. But that stubborn ass didn’t give up,” Aman says scoffing. 

“That’s my brother for you,” Kusum says sniffling. Aman just gives her a smile. 

“I’m sorry for waking you up. Go back to sleep. We need to go meet Kartik in the morning,” Aman says and Kusum gets up. She walks away but stops when she remembers something. “Oh, I approve of you two,” she says with a wink and walks away. 

Aman lies back on the couch with a smile on his face. 

_ No more running from you, Kartik. Let’s fight fate together.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as always your comments make my day so please leave them below!  
> i'll see you as soon as i possibly can.   
> lots and lots of love to you all 💜


	19. Scene 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kartik is tired of Aman's mixed signals. Aman doesn't want to do anything till the danger is out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone! i have an update for you guys.  
> also you might have noticed that the chapter limit has been added. we only have 4 more chapters to go after this and i'll try to make the best out of them.  
> now onward with the chapter.  
> oh this is unedited so please ignore the mistakes

“What do you mean by my fiancé gave me blood? I don’t remember being engaged,” Aman hears Kartik ask as he walks into the hospital room the next day. Aman realizes that if Kartik says one more word they might get busted so he runs to where Kartik is sitting up on his bed and hugs him tight. 

“Oh my god, you’re awake. Do you know how worried I was?” Aman fake cries. He pulls away and looks at Kartik who looks so confused. He blinks his eyes as if he is trying to remember how they got here. 

“Doctor, did I have a memory loss? Because the last time I checked he didn’t feel anything for me,” Kartik asks, pointing at Aman. The doctor looks as confused as Kartik and looks at the paper in his hand.  _ They must be Kartik’s test reports.  _ Aman thinks.

“There is no sign of memory loss in the reports but we’ll run some more tests. You should get some rest,” the doctor says and Kartik nods. The doctor leaves the room and the nurses come in to give Kartik his medicines. After they all leave, it is just Aman and Kartik in the room. 

“So want to tell me how I managed to convince you to date me? No not date, get engaged to me,” Kartik asks, looking at Aman with such a huge grin that makes Aman’s heart melt.  _ I can’t believe I was trying to let go of this.  _ Aman thinks. But he decides that he wants to ask Kartik out in a better situation than this so he acts how he normally does. 

“We aren’t engaged. The last memory you have of us is the last time we met,” Aman says and Kartik’s grin falls off. Aman’s heart longs to bring that grin back on his face. 

“So why did the doctor say that my fiancé donated the blood?” Kartik asks, seeming defeated.

“You needed blood immediately and you have a rare blood type. They wouldn’t let me donate blood if I wasn’t a family member so I just said I’m your fiancé,” Aman explains and Kartik nods. 

“Thank you for that,” Kartik says softly and lies on the bed. He turns to face away from Aman and looks out of the window. Aman moves away from the bed and sits on the sofa that is in the room. 

“Oh, how is Shanti ma’am? I heard she got hurt trying to save me,” Kartik asks, still facing away from Aman. Aman’s blood boils and he puts all his energy into calming himself down. He has a plan to follow and that plan does not include Kartik. 

“She’s okay. She’ll get discharged today,” Aman answers through gritted teeth. 

“Oh, that’s nice to know. I need to send her a thank you card,” Kartik says out loud. 

“Do that after you get out of here,” Aman says and picks up one of the magazines placed on the table. He sees the cover features Kartik who has a small smile on his face and messy hair. The cover makes him smile and he promises himself to buy this issue when he leaves the hospital. 

“.......are you even listening to me?” Kartik finishes and Aman realizes that he managed to zone out. 

“No, sorry I got distracted,” Aman says and Kartik scoffs. 

“Forget it, I feel tired. I’m going to sleep. Please be here when I wake up, my dearest fiancé,” Kartik says with a yawn. Aman’s heart skips a few beats when Kartik calls him that.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Aman says but he gets no response. 

_ Never again, Kartik. _

  
  


_ On the other side,  _

“Shanti, do you have any information on the man you hired?” Sandy asks while cleaning Shanti’s wounds with Dettol. 

“Yeah, I have his number. Why are you asking?” Shanti answers with a hiss as her wounds burn. 

“I need to ask him questions about the case,” Sandy says and picks up the bandages. 

“Why him?” Shanti asks. 

“The authorities asked us to investigate all these attacks on Kartik as they think it is linked with the Mukesh Mehra case. So if we look into it, his name is bound to pop up. So I'll just meet up with him alone before I formally question him with the team so I can tell him to not take your name,” Sandy explains and finishes bandaging Shanti’s wounds. 

“Okay. I’ll give you his information. But Sandy, thank you so much. You are the best sister, I'm so grateful to have you,” Shanti says and Sandy smiles at her. 

“Rest now. I need to leave,” Sandy says and gets up from her spot. She carries all her things and walks out of the room. 

  
  
  


_ Five days later,  _

  
  


“You just got out of the hospital, why do you want to go back on set?” Kartik’s mom asks and Kartik puts on his shoes. 

“How long can I avoid the set for?” Kartik asks and finishes typing up his shoelaces. 

“At least give it a week. Are the directors forcing you? Do I need to talk with them?” she asks and Kartik looks at her and sighs out dramatically. 

“No one is forcing me. I finally have work. Please just let me do my work,” Kartik begs and his mom nods. 

“Okay, I won’t stop you. You are an adult and know what’s best for you. But, go easy on yourself and if you feel even a bit of pain, stop and call the doctors,” his mom says and Kartik rolls his eyes. 

“How do you go from calling me an adult and babying me in the same sentence?” Kartik asks and his mom just smiles at him. His mom gives him breakfast and makes him take his medicines before she lets him out of the door. 

When he gets to the parking lot, he sees Aman waiting next to his car. He looks at Aman with confusion clear on his face. 

“What? I’m your manager. I need to do my job,” Aman says and walks over to him. He takes Kartik’s hand and leads him towards his car.

“Wait what? I’m not going anywhere with you,” Kartik says but he makes no move to stop Aman and lets Aman lead him. Aman opens the door on the passenger's side and waits for Kartik to sit. 

“Let go of my hand, I will count to three. One. Two. Two and a half,” Kartik counts but Aman just looks at him with a ‘are you for real right now’ expression. Kartik scoffs and sits. Aman closes the door and runs to the other side, sitting on the driver’s side. He smiles at Kartik and starts driving. 

  
  
  


“Why do you want to be my manager all of a sudden? Interested because I'm a celebrity? Or is it because your semester ended?” Kartik asks, looking at Aman who is focused on the road.

“Whatever makes you feel better,” Aman answers. 

“Why are you doing this? Didn’t you say we should pretend we don’t know each other?” Kartik asks and looks out the window. Aman decides not to answer his question and just focus on driving. 

  
  


They reach the set and Kartik opens the door. He walks out and starts walking towards the set. Aman looks at Kartik expecting him to wait. He immediately walks out of the car when Kartik shows no sign of stopping. 

“Can you not follow me? I’ll feel uncomfortable,” Kartik says when Aman gets near him. 

“Okay, if that’s what you want. Come back here once you’re done. I’ll be waiting for you,” Aman says and goes back to stand next to the car. 

“I won’t. Don’t wait for me,” Kartik says and moves to walk away. 

“Kartik-” 

“Aman, stop. You can’t keep on giving me mixed signals. You said we need to pretend that we don’t know each other. You said you don’t like me. So just stop acting as you care for me. I can get by on my own,” Kartik says and walks away leaving a speechless Aman behind. 

_ I really did fuck up big time.  _

  
  


Kartik walks around the set looking at the decorations they have put up. He pulls out his phone and starts taking pictures. As he is walking, he hears a voice calling out his name. He turns around and sees Shanti making his way towards him. 

“Shanti ma’am, hi,” Kartik says with a smile. 

“Hi, Kartik. You’re back on set so soon?” Shanti asks. 

“Yeah, I couldn’t stay home anymore. Also, I hope you received the thank you gift from me. I know that’s not enough but please let me know if there is any way I can repay you,” Kartik says, his expression and voice radiates gratefulness which makes Shanti smile. 

“Oh come on, it was nothing. I’m happy to know you’re safe,” Shanti says and they both hear the director call out Kartik’s name. He gives Shanti a smile and a final thank you before making his way towards the director. 

“Hello Kartik, listen. You have two scenes today and we are shooting the first one right now so you should start preparing,” the director says and Kartik nods. The director tells him that the scene is an action scene and tells him to go talk to the action director. 

  
  


Kartik runs down the cliff into the ditch. He falls and rolls down on the grass inside the ditch pulling out the gun and pointing it at the camera. He breathes heavily and stays in the position until the director says cut. 

“Kartik, let’s do it once again,” the director says and Kartik nods. He performs the stunt again and the director asks him to do it once again. This goes on for some time and Kartik’s head starts hurting a little with all the falling and rolling he did. 

“Let’s do it one last time,” the director says and Kartik nods. He is totally out of breath and nearly on the verge of falling but he still gives his best. When the director yells cut and Kartik looks at him expectantly he says, “I liked the first one better. We’ll just go with that and handle the rest in editing,” 

Kartik wants to punch him in the face but resists the urge as he can’t afford to get into a scandal right now. He walks over to the assistant director and asks her if there is any place he can rest until he needs to shoot his next scene. She points him to the room at the top and Kartik thanks her. He walks over to the room and sees a couch there. He jumps on the couch and falls asleep almost immediately. 

  
  
  


“CUT!” the director says and the assistant director makes her way towards him. 

“Sir, this scene was supposed to be a day scene so we can’t shoot it right now,” she informs him and he nods his head. “This is Kartik’s scene, right? Let him know that it has been postponed,” the director says and the assistant director asks one of the spot boys to inform Kartik. 

As the spot boy is looking for Kartik, everyone starts packing up for the day. He realizes that Kartik must have seen everyone packing up and realized that his scene has been postponed. He goes to help with the pack up instead of looking for Kartik who is still asleep on the couch. 

  
  


Kartik wakes up from his sleep and notices that the room is completely dark. He looks around and sees no one there.  _ They must have forgotten to turn on the lights here.  _ Kartik thinks. Once he is more aware of his surroundings, he realizes that there is a pin drop silence. He gets up from the couch and turns on the light on his phone. He makes his way towards the door and opens it. He walks out of the room and notices that the whole place is dark. No lights or people can be seen around. 

“Hello, is anyone here?” Kartik calls out and gets nothing in answer. 

“Did everyone just leave me? How could they even do that to me?” Kartik says angrily and climbs down the stairs. He notices a switch on the wall as he is climbing down so he switches it on but his foot slips. He expects to fall but instead feels a pair of hands steady him. He looks up and sees Aman standing there looking concerned. He pulls away from Aman and looks at him with an angry expression on his face. 

“Didn’t I ask you to leave?” Kartik says angrily. 

“I said I was going to wait,” Aman answers back. 

“Why? Why wait for me?” Kartik asks, getting angrier. 

“I, I just, I need to protect you, Kartik,” Aman answers softly. Kartik feels his anger melting away and disbelief taking its place. 

“Protect what exactly? I’m too stupid to understand vague things so be more specific,” Kartik scoffs out. Aman opens his mouth to answer Kartik but can’t find words. He cannot reveal the thing that he needs to protect Kartik from. Kartik notices Aman’s inner turmoil and asks, “are you a player? Do you have fun when you see me like this? Me being confused with your signals? After this, you’ll apologize for confusing me, tell me you are only interested because I’m a celebrity. Don’t you get tired?” 

When he again gets nothing in reply, he walks away from Aman. he stops and turns around to say, “you said you never liked me, your heart never fluttered for me, you were never worried for me, you never pictured a future with me. For you, I was just entertainment. A pass time,” He walks a little more distance before he turns around to face Aman again. “And if you didn’t get it, let me make it clearer for you, I don't like you anymore. In fact, I hate you for doing this with me. Please, get out of my sight, or my life. Also, know how selfish you’re being,” he says and walks away again. 

This time, he hears footsteps behind him and he gets annoyed. He turns around to give Aman a piece of his mind and sees Aman standing there, too close to his face. 

“What-what are you doing?” Kartik asks, confused. Aman moves his hands and cups Kartik’s face. He strokes Kartik’s cheeks with his thumb and answers, “the most selfish thing I can do to you,” 

  
  


_ And plants his lips against Kartik.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, thoughts?  
> since i have everything layed out now, i might start updating faster. please send motivation my way.  
> as always, your support means a lot to me so please keep it coming. 
> 
> till next time! <3


	20. Scene 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so what was Sandy's plan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what is this? an update so soon? why yes.  
> please enjoy!

“Also, know how selfish you’re being,” Kartik says and walks away from Aman again. 

This time, he hears footsteps behind him and he gets annoyed. He turns around to give Aman a piece of his mind and sees Aman standing there, too close to his face. 

“What-what are you doing?” Kartik asks, confused. Aman moves his hands and cups Kartik’s face. He strokes Kartik’s cheeks with his thumb and answers, “the most selfish thing I can do to you,” and plants his lips against Kartik's. Kartik’s eyes go wide for a second before they close as Aman starts moving his lips against his. Kartik finally comes to his senses and pushes Aman away. 

“Huh, you really thought you’re allowed to walk up to me and kiss me whenever you like?” Kartik scoffs out and looks at Aman who looks dazed. “Tell me, do you like me? You are doing this because you like me right?” Kartik asks again but Aman hasn’t managed to snap out of his daze yet. Kartik scoffs and walks away from him again. Aman finally snaps out and follows Kartik. He catches Kartik’s wrist but Kartik jerks his hand away. 

“You can’t even lie, Aman. You could have just said yes to go with the mood. I mean, yeh kaha ka rule hai? Bas aao aur kiss karke bolo ke ‘I’m not interested’. Main us type ka aadmi nahi hu,” Kartik says. He goes to continue but feels a sharp pain in his head which makes him hiss out. Aman notices it and immediately comes in front of Kartik. ( _ I mean, what place has this kind of a rule? Just come and kiss someone then say ‘I’m not interested’. You see, I’m not that kind of a man) _

“Are you okay?” he asks. Kartik clutches his head in his hand and winces. He loses his balance but before he can fall, Aman catches him. He places Kartik’s arm on his shoulder and starts walking towards the direction of where he parked his car. “Kartik, it’s okay. I’ll take you to the hospital,” he says as he walks with most of Kartik’s weight on his shoulder. 

“No, no more hospital. Jab se tumse mila hu, tab se lagta hai hospital me maine ek permanent room book kar liya hai,” Kartik says and winces again. They get to the car and Aman opens the passenger’s side and places Kartik there. He runs to the driver’s side and immediately starts driving. ( _ No, no more hospital. Ever since I met you, it seems as if I have permanently booked a room in the hospital.) _

  
  


Aman slowly helps a nearly unconscious Kartik out of the elevator. They make their way towards Kartik’s door and Aman realizes that he doesn’t know the password to Kartik’s apartment. He tries asking Kartik the passcode but all he gets in reply is incoherent murmuring. He thinks about it for a second and remembers when Kartik mentioned that his apartment’s passcode was four 0s and takes the risk. He is successful when the door opens and he looks at Kartik in disbelief. 

“Itni high tech security ka kya faida jab passcode hi 0000 ho,” Aman scoffs and makes his way towards what he assumes is Kartik’s bedroom. He places Kartik on the bed and Kartik immediately gets comfortable. He nuzzles his head against his pillow and smiles a little. The action makes Aman’s heart clench with so much love, he is in disbelief.  _ Wait, what? Did I just think about love? That too for Kartik?  _ Aman thinks but one look at Kartik’s smiling face confirms all his doubts.  _ (What’s the use of having such high tech security when the passcode is 0000) _

_ Yes, I'm hopelessly in love with this dumbass. _

He puts his thoughts aside for a moment and goes to take off Kartik’s shoes. He places them next to his bed and pulls the blanket over Kartik’s body. He takes one last look at Kartik and moves to go back to his own apartment when a hand clutches his wrist. “Please don’t go,” comes out Kartik’s weak voice and Aman immediately turns around to see Kartik, who can barely open his eyes, sitting up on the bed holding Aman’s wrist. Aman pulls his hand out of Kartik’s grip gently and makes Kartik lie back on the bed. 

“I have so many questions for you, please don’t go without answering them,” Kartik says. 

“Okay, I won’t go anywhere. But the questions can wait, just rest for now,” Aman says running his fingers through Kartik’s hair. 

“Just one question?” Kartik says softly and Aman doesn’t have the heart to refuse so he nods. 

“That kiss, was it for me? I mean like me me and not celebrity me?” Kartik asks and Aman wants to fall on his knees and apologize for hurting this man so much. Instead of going with that plan, he gives Kartik a soft smile and says, “that kiss was for Kartik, that one dumbass who lives next door to me and is really annoying,” which earns him a weak slap. Aman gives Kartik a soft kiss on his forehead and says, “now no more questions. Just rest,” 

“You won’t leave, right?” He asks, nearly on the verge of falling asleep. 

“No, never again Kartik. I’ll never leave you,” Aman says and Kartik smiles before relaxing. His breathing levels out so Aman assumes he is asleep. He takes off his shoes and his coat before getting in the bed next to Kartik. Kartik immediately wraps his arms around his waist and clings to him like a koala. Aman just chuckles and wraps his arms around Kartik’s body. They both fall asleep wrapped around each other. 

  
  


“Kartik, wake u-AHHHH,” Kusum screams as she sees her brother and his neighbor cuddling on the bed the next morning. Her scream alerts their mom who comes to check in on her children and is shocked by the scene in front of her too. Kusum and her mom look at each other then look back on the bed and telepathically communicate a plan. Kusum runs out of the room and comes back with her phone in hand. The two tiptoe their way next to Kartik’s bed and open up the camera app on her phone. The noise of the camera clicking wakes Kartik up and he says, “How did you all get into my apartment? I should have listened to everyone when they asked me to change my passcode from 0000,” 

“Yeah, I was about to mention the same thing to you last night,” Aman says in his deep morning voice which makes Kartik swoon. Kusum takes a picture that brings Kartik and Aman out of their sleepy daze. Both of them look up and see Kusum and mom looking down at them. They both start screaming which causes the other two to start screaming. Kusum is the first one to calm down and tries to calm the others too. Once all of them are calm, they all look at each other. 

“What happened last night?” Kartik’s mom asks which breaks the awkward tension in the room. Everyone looks at Kartik and Kartik looks at Aman, waiting for an explanation. “Soooo?” Kusum asks again and Kartik sighs out, knowing he has to explain whatever happened last night. He slowly recounts all the events from the set to the two coming back home and asking Aman to stay. Kartik leaves out the kiss part because that is something he wants to talk about with Aman first. 

“I’m coming to the set with you today. I need to have a word with this director, I mean who makes someone who just got out of the hospital work so hard on their first day? I could sue him-” Kartik mom’s starts but Kartik interrupts her, “no one is going on the set today,” 

“What do you mean? I’m not letting you go alone. What if-” Aman starts but Kartik interrupts him too, “did you even listen to what I said? I said no one, that no one includes me too,” 

“Wait, why are you not going to the set?” Kusum asks. 

“I don’t have any scenes today, so a day off for Kartik,” Kartik says and gets up from his bed. Aman gets up after him too. 

“Both of you, freshen up. I have the breakfast prepared,” his mom says and walks out of the room. 

“Oh Aman, it's today,” Kusum says before she leaves the room too. 

“What? What is it today?” Kartik asks and looks at Aman suspiciously. 

“Its nothing, don’t worry,” Aman says. Kartik comes over to him and hugs him tight. Aman smiles and hugs back. Kartik nuzzles his nose against Aman’s hair and places a soft kiss there which makes Aman smile. 

“So you do like me right?” Kartik murmurs against Aman’s hair which makes him chuckle. Aman pulls his head away and places a soft peck on Kartik’s lips. “Yes Kartik, I do like you,” he says and Kartik smiles before placing a soft peck on Aman’s lips. 

“Now you can go about your day,” Kartik says and pulls away from him. 

“I’ll be back before you know it,” Aman says and Kartik nods with a smile on his face. 

  
  
  


_ Sometime around the evening,  _

Aman walks into the mansion-like house feeling nervous. The woman in front leads him to the room where the person who invited him here is waiting. Once they reach the door, the woman requests that Aman leaves all his belongings out on the table. Aman takes out his phone, wallet, and keys and places them on the table. The woman knocks on the door and opens it. Aman walks in and sees Shanti Priya waiting, standing near the window. She turns around to look at him and motions him to sit on the couch. 

“I hope you didn’t have much trouble getting here,” she says and makes her way to him and sits on the couch on the opposite side. 

“Let’s just skip the pleasantries, what did you call me here for?” Aman asks, not wanting to beat around the bush. 

“Well okay then. I know you know a secret. I want you to keep your mouth shut about it,” Shanti says. 

“What secret do I know?” Aman asks, wanting to hear her confirming her own crime. 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” Shanti says, getting a little angry. 

“But I want to hear you say it,” Aman says. She sighs out in anger and glares at him.

“I know you know that I killed Mukesh Mehra, I want you to keep that secret to yourself,” Shanti finally admits and Aman smiles. 

“Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Aman taunts. “And what if I don’t?” 

“I also know what Kartik means to you. If you refuse to keep your mouth shut, I will harm Kartik,” Shanti says and Aman scoffs. 

“As if you haven’t been doing that already,” Aman says. 

“Oh those were nothing, you don’t know what I'm capable of,” Shanti smirks. “But honestly I would have been successful if it weren’t for you sticking your nose in every time,” 

“Okay, I’ll do what you want, just don’t harm Kartik,” Aman backtracks quickly. “But after you tell me why you killed Mukesh Mehra? Didn’t you just meet him on the night of the party?” 

“Okay if that is what will make you shut up. I met Mukesh Mehra and took an instant liking to him because he was driven and passionate about his work. Everything was going smoothly for us. We both stayed out of each other’s work life but still made time for each other. But after his last movie flopped, he sort of started losing his popularity. He thought of making ways he could regain his old popularity and marrying me was one of them. You see, I'm an extremely ambitious woman. I love my job and I will destroy anything that comes in between. And whether you admit it or not, marriage negatively affects a woman’s career in this industry. But Mukesh refused to listen to me. He just wanted to get married. On the night of the party, he cornered me and started talking about how he was going to announce our engagement at the party. He didn’t listen to me and I just didn’t think of anything. I just saw the water and just, just pushed me,” Shanti narrates the entire thing. Somewhere between the story, she started crying and Aman understood her point of view. He gets up and consoles her. Once she stops crying, Aman sits back on the couch and looks at her waiting to continue. 

“I know I shouldn’t have killed him, but at that moment I couldn't think of anything else, I just did what my gut instinct told me to do. Kartik was getting suspicious and if he had put two and two together, he would have recognized it was me and I couldn't afford that,” Shanti finishes and Aman nods. 

“Okay, I won't tell anyone what happened on the night of the party. But you have to promise me, you won’t try to harm Kartik anymore,” Aman says. 

“Okay, deal. I won’t harm Kartik if you don’t open your mouth,” Shanti says and Aman nods. He gets up from the couch and walks out of the room sensing the conversation is over. He grabs his things from the table and walks out of the mansion. Once he is seated in his car, he dials a number and waits for the person on the other side to pick it up. 

“Hello,” the person on the other side says. 

“Hi Sandy, I hope you got everything you needed,” Aman answers back. 

“Yeah, I did. Thank you so much for your help,” Sandy says. 

“No, thank you. You are putting your relationship with your sister and your career on the line here,” Aman says. 

“I should have thought about those things before I supported my sister. Anyways, I’ll let you know when we arrest her,” 

“Okay, talk to you then,” Aman says and cuts off the call. 

  
  
  


_ Two days later,  _

  
  


Kartik is playing cards with the spot boys while he waits for his turn to shoot. He is totally winning this round. He looks up at Aman who is sitting near the tree giving him a thumbs up. He smiles at him and plays his last cards, making everyone groan out. He is collecting all the money when he hears whispers around him. He looks up and sees police making their way towards Shanti who is sitting on her chair reading the script. The two detectives, Sandy and Om, walk out of the car and go in the same direction. Kartik looks at Aman who gestures to follow him. Aman and Kartik make their way towards the scene. 

“Miss Shanti Priya, you are under arrest for the murder of Mukesh Mehra and all the attacks on Kartik Singh,” Om speaks out and pulls out his handcuffs. Kartik’s eyes go wide and he looks at Aman who just gives him a nod. 

“What do you mean?” Kartik gasps out. Shanti looks at Sandy and just gives her a smile. She holds out her hands and lets Om put the handcuffs on her. She gets up from her chair and lets the police lead her. Kartik runs and stands in front of them, blocking the way. 

“I’m not letting you go until you give me the answers,” Kartik says and Shanti just smiles. 

“You can ask Aman, he knows everything,” is all Shanti says before the police put her inside the car and drive off. Kartik looks at Aman who just looks down to the ground. 

“What just happened Aman? I need answers, please,” Kartik says on the verge of breaking down. 

“It’s a long story, Kartik. I need you to be completely calm before I tell you anything,” Aman says. 

“I’m fucking calm, just give me my answers,” Kartik screams out. His legs feel like jello and he is struggling to hold himself up. His knees give out and he falls to the ground. Aman immediately is by his side holding him. Kartik starts sobbing against Aman’s shoulders as Aman rubs his back trying to calm him down. 

“Aman, please. I can’t take this anymore. I need a break. Please take me away from here,” Kartik cries out. 

“Okay Kartik, let’s go home,” Aman says and tries to get up but Kartik pulls him back down. 

“No, not home. Let’s run away, far away from here,” Kartik cries. 

“Okay, Kartik. Let’s run away,” Aman says. 

  
  


_ And I know just the place.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so thoughts?  
> are you guys satisfied with the way Shanti got caught? do you think Shanti should have done what she did? well give me thoughts on what will happen in the next three chapters (well technically 2 cause the last chapter will be a short outro) now that the evil is out. 
> 
> see you next time! <3


	21. Scene 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a getaway for the couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> henlo people, this chapter is mostly fluff   
> so please enjoy!

“Kartik, we’re here. Wake up,” Aman wakes Kartik up who is peacefully sleeping on the passenger’s seat. He passed out after asking Aman to take him away from there. Kartik slowly opens his eyes and looks out. 

“Where are we?” he murmurs out in a sleepy voice. He stretches in the seat and comes out of the car. He looks around and is greeted by the sight of a small cottage surrounded by a beautiful garden. He can see that there are no houses near them. The place is extremely peaceful and Kartik feels calm being there. 

“Where is this place?” Kartik asks Aman who is just staring out into space. 

“I don’t know what this place is called but it’s about 2 hours away from the city,” Aman says and walks towards the door. 

“I really want to know how you come across such beautiful places,” Kartik asks, completely in awe. 

Instead of replying, Aman just smiles and unlocks the door. He opens it and walks inside. Kartik follows him inside and looks around. The cottage feels extremely welcoming and is decorated beautifully. Kartik walks further inside and looks around. 

“Do you know who owns this place?” Kartik asks, looking at a painting that is hanging on the wall. 

“I do,” Aman says nonchalantly and Kartik just looks at him with a shocked expression on his face. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Aman asks, laughing at Kartik’s expression. 

“Why did you never mention it?” Kartik asks and sits on the couch that is placed in the middle of the room. 

“It never came up in conversations,” Aman shrugs. “Do you want some coffee?” 

“I think you should give me my answers before coffee,” Kartik says. 

“Here I was thinking we could avoid that conversation,” Aman says and sighs out. He sits on the couch opposite to Kartik and takes a deep breath. “What do you want to know?” 

“Did Shanti really do all of that? But why?” Kartik asks and gets comfortable on the couch. 

“Well, Shanti murdered Mukesh because he got too obsessed with getting married to her and tried to kill you too because she thought you knew it was her,” Aman answers. 

“Wait, didn’t she say she just met him that night? And what do you mean by obsessed?” Kartik asks him. 

“Apparently they were dating before that. She just didn’t want suspicion on her so she denied having met him before. His last movie flopped which decreased his fame so he wanted to get married to her so he could regain his fame. But what he refused to acknowledge was how that marriage would affect Shanti’s career,” Aman explains and Kartik nods. 

“But how did she know that I knew it was her?” Kartik asks. 

“Did you ever give a statement to Detective Sandy?” Aman asks and Kartik nods. “Then she knew it from there,” 

“Wait, Sandy was with her in this entire thing?” Kartik asks shocked and Aman just nods. “So that doll with the camera and the cliff accident were her doing?” 

“Those and the onset accident too,” 

“But she saved me in that accident?” Kartik asks. He can’t imagine Shanti doing all of this to him.  _ But I guess you never really know a person too well,  _ Kartik thinks. 

“She didn’t exactly save you. She saw that you’d have fallen on the mat so she tried to push you towards the ground. She didn’t know it would save you,” Aman explains. He feels bad for Kartik. He knew Kartik trusted Shanti and learning her truth is going to be extremely hard on him. 

“So she wanted me dead?” Kartik asks and Aman notices his voice is getting heavy. Aman moves to sit next to him and Kartik immediately places his head on Aman’s shoulder and starts sobbing. Aman wraps his arms around Kartik and rubs his back to soothe him. 

“I’m so sorry for everything, Kartik,” Aman whispers as Kartik continues crying. After a while, Kartik calms down and relaxes in Aman’s hold. 

“Are you okay?” Aman whispers and Kartik nods against his shoulder. 

“Thank you, for everything,” Kartik says, pulling away from Aman and giving him a weak smile. 

“You don’t have to thank me,” Aman replies and returns his smile. “Does that answer all of your questions? I’m going to make us some coffee now,” Aman gets up from the couch only for Kartik to catch his wrist and stop. 

“About that, yes. But I still have a few more questions about us,” Kartik says and pulls Aman back on the couch. Aman gets nervous as to what questions Kartik is about to ask. 

“What about us?” Aman says, nervously. 

“You said you liked me, then why did you deny it at first?” Kartik says and Aman gulps nervously. He thinks of lying and closing the topic here but he knows, now that everything is out, he needs to put this out there too. 

“I was scared, scared that you’ll leave me, scared that I was the reason you are going through all of this,” Aman answers honestly. He doesn’t look Kartik in the eyes and doesn’t know what Kartik is thinking right now. “Do you want to hear a story, Kartik?” 

“A story? I want answers first,” Kartik says, his voice giving out his confusion. 

“I think my story will answer most of your questions,” Aman says and finally looks up at Kartik. Kartik looks at him and sees the sincerity on his face and sighs. He nods as a reply and Aman starts. 

“A few years ago, there was a small boy. He lived a very happy life. He had an amazing family, good social life, and a nice house. But there was one thing, that boy had dreams, or should I say one specific dream. A dream in which he sees a man die. He always saw the man fall from a cruise. The man in his dreams was wearing shoes that were black in color and had golden detailing on them, but he never saw the man’s face. 

Whenever he told someone about the dream, they told him it was just a dream and he was thinking too much about it. Because of that one part of him, he felt isolated from the rest of the people around him. He thought he was crazy. He thought he wasn’t normal. But he had to pretend everything was normal with him or everyone else will leave him. But everything has a limit. One day he just gave up, he just stopped pretending everything was normal and told the first-ever friend he had about his dreams. The friend called him crazy and left him. 

Since then, the boy never bothered anyone else. He pushed away everyone who tried to come near him. He made many enemies because of it but at least he didn’t have to pretend everything was okay when it wasn’t. The boy’s parents were concerned for him. They thought sending their boy to the city would do something good and the boy agreed with them. So at the age of 18, the boy came to the city, all alone. 

But life didn’t change for the boy. The dreams still continued, and so did the boy’s trust issues. He gave himself to the books around him. He read everything that could have the answer to his dreams but he didn’t get any. By the age of 22, the boy had decided that this was his life now and there was nothing he could do to change that. So he made peace with it. 

Until that one faithful day, when things changed for him. The day was like every other day, until the moment he stepped in the elevator and was accused of being a pervert by a man he didn’t know anything about. Apparently, that man was a well-known celebrity but the boy had no interest in him. Well, that was until he saw the man’s shoes, those fucking shoes that haunted him since he was a child. And he was scared. Scared for that man’s life. 

Then the actual day of the incident happened, he succeeded in saving the man’s life. But there was someone else who died that night. The boy heard the killer’s conversation but at that moment he didn’t know that. Slowly, the news started spreading and the man who the boy saved started falling into a ditch. Fate is a weird thing, you know? You don’t know what life has planned for you. 

For that boy, fate had twined the man’s life with his. After that day, the boy’s dreams changed. Now he saw a glass bowl falling from above, a car driving down a cliff and a wire snapping. He didn’t know what these dreams meant but somewhere in his mind, he knew his dreams were connected to the man and he got scared. 

One by one, each dream came true and the boy became convinced that he was the reason the man was suffering so much. He tried to let go of that man but somewhere along the way, he fell for the man. Funnily enough, the man also fell for the boy. The man was strong enough to confess that to the boy but the boy was scared that him being with the man could end up killing the man. So he did everything in his power to keep the man away from him but the man was too stubborn to listen. 

Then the man met with an accident and the boy felt so helpless. It was at that moment, the boy knew that no matter what happens, he couldn’t let go of that man. He couldn’t live without that man. And fate also gave him an opportunity. He helped fate and got the evil out of his and the man’s life,” 

“Did they have a happy ending?” Kartik asks. Aman looks at him and notices that Kartik has tears streaming down his face. Aman’s own eyes are blurry with tears. 

“Hmm, I don’t think they have reached the point of a happy ending yet,” Aman answers and wipes his tears away. 

“When will that happen?” Kartik asks and sniffles, making Aman chuckle softly. 

“What’s your definition of a happy ending, Kartik?” Aman asks and looks at Kartik with a soft smile. 

“A happy ending? For me, it is the point where I want to freeze everything. The moment when I realize that, this is it. This is where I want to be for the rest of my life,” Kartik answers and returns Aman’s smile. 

“Have you experienced that moment yet?” Aman asks. 

“No, not yet,” Kartik answers back softly. 

“Then no, they haven’t had their happy ending yet,” Aman answers, 

“Does that boy still have dreams about the man dying?” Kartik asks. 

“Not anymore,” Aman answers. 

“At least that’s nice. But you know, this story is kind of incomplete,” Kartik says. 

“Why? Is it because of the happy ending?” Aman asks, confused. 

“That, too. But also I feel like something’s missing,” Kartik says and hums. 

“Well that is all I know,” Aman says and tries to rack his brain for something he might have missed while narrating his story but comes up with nothing. 

“I guess we’ll know when the time comes,” Kartik says and shrugs. “But can we promise one thing to each other?” 

“Promise? What?” Aman asks. 

“That we will never cry again. I feel like I have cried all my tears since I met you. Now all I want is smiles. I want us to be happy,” Kartik says and holds out his pinky finger. Aman looks at it and laughs which makes Kartik pout. Aman can’t resist so he places a peck on Kartik's pout and twins his pinky with Kartik’s. 

“I promise. No more tears for us,” Aman says. 

  
  
  
  
  


_ Sometime around the evening,  _

Kartik walks into the living room where Aman is reading a book and puts a copy of the script in front of him. Aman places a bookmark in his book and closes it. He looks at the script and then back at Kartik with a question clear on his face. 

“Help me practice,” Kartik says and sits next to him. 

“Practice what exactly?” Aman asks and picks up the script. 

“Scene number 43,” Kartik says and Aman turns to the page. He reads the script and looks at Kartik, “I don’t know how to act,” 

“Just read out the lines and do the motions as mentioned. It’s not rocket science,” Kartik says and rolls his eyes. 

“Rocket science would have been easier than this,” Aman answers but complies nonetheless. Kartik gets up and Aman follows him. Kartik picks up his script and starts reading. 

“You said the same thing last time, Aman. I can’t go through what I went through the last time,” 

“Wait, the name is different here?” Aman asks confused and Kartik rolls his eyes. 

“Let’s go with our real name, that will help you get into the scene more,” Kartik explains and Aman nods. Kartik waits for Aman to deliver the dialogue after that and Aman sighs. He picks up the script and reads, “I'm sorry Kartik, I was stupid. But I'm not the same person anymore, I have changed.” his voice sounded extremely monotonous. Kartik questions his taste in men for a moment but continues with the practice nonetheless. 

He turns around and walks away from Aman a little. “How can you assure me that this time will be any different? How can you be so sure?” Kartik cries. Kartik waits for Aman to act out the next scene but Aman just clears his throat and says, “I should get started on dinner, you can watch the tv, it has Netflix. That’s what it's called, right?” 

He walks out of the room and Kartik reads what was next and doesn’t understand why Aman hesitated to say that to Kartik. The line reads, 

_ (back hug) _

_ H: I love you, (Kartik’s character’s name) and I’ll never leave you. Never again. _

  
  


_ Why did this make him uncomfortable?  _ Kartik thinks. 

  
  
  


After dinner, Kartik is sitting on the patio trying to find a signal on his cell phone so he can contact someone and let them know he is safe. He finally finds a signal and connects to the internet. But his phone starts vibrating and he sees that it's a call from his mom so he picks it up. 

“Kartik? Where are you? Did you see the news? Or wait she got arrested in front of you right? She admitted to everything, oh my god I’m so scared please tell me you’re okay,” his mom cries out and he realizes that he should have at least given her a call before he decided to run away. 

“Ma, I’m okay. In fact, I have never been better. And yes she got arrested in front of me. But can we talk about that when I come back?” Kartik assures her and hears her breathe out in relief. 

“Okay, but where are you?” she asks. 

“I actually don’t know. But I’m at this really beautiful place ma. It is so peaceful, it's like heaven,” Kartik answers. He can’t see the beautiful garden in the dark but the smell of the fresh flowers calms him down. 

“That does nothing to calm me, Kartik,” his mom answers and he laughs. 

“Don’t worry ma. I’m okay. I’m with Aman. He’ll protect me, no matter what,” Kartik answers with a smile. 

“That makes me a little relieved. Here, Kusum wants to talk to you,” his mom says and he immediately hears his sister’s voice, “You dumbfuck, why didn’t you call? Why are you unreachable? I thought you died. And even Aman’s phone is out of reach. Do you know how worried everyone is?” Her voice is so loud, Kartik has to take his phone away from his ear. 

“Don’t worry, we are good and safe. Shanti is out of our lives now,” Kartik says. “But is there any update? I just left after she got arrested,” 

“Yeah, she admitted to all her crimes. Her detective sister was helping her so she got suspended and arrested. Also, the president called and apologized,” Kusum answers with a laugh. 

“He did? Please tell me you told him to fuck off?”

“Even better, ma told him to fuck off,” Kusum says and they both laugh. 

“But I will need a new management company now,” Kartik says. 

“Well, you don’t need to look for it anymore,” 

“What do you mean?” 

“You know SYM? They called ma, said they wanted you to come to their office after you have rested for some time,” 

“SYM? Really?” Kartik asks, feeling giddy. 

“Yes Kartik, SYM,” Kusum answers and laughs at Kartik’s excitement.

“Kusum, you don’t understand how happy I am,” Kartik squeals on the phone. He doesn’t care how he sounds, he is finally happy after a long, long time. 

“I can only imagine. Well, I’ll let you celebrate this happiness if you know what I mean. Take care, Kartik. I love you,” Kusum says. Kartik realizes that this is the first time Kusum has said this to him and gets a little emotional. 

“I love you too, Kusum,” Kartik answers. 

“And I love you both,” his ma says and Kartik laughs. He finally has his family back together.  _ His happiness, all of it.  _

They all say their goodbyes and Kartik cuts off the call. He notices that Aman still isn’t back and he gets a little scared. He walks into the house and looks around. The house is completely silent. He walks out of the door and looks around but still, there is no sign of Aman. He starts panicking and calling out Aman’s name. 

“Aman, where are you? Are you listening to me? Did you leave me here? Aman?” Kartik screams but gets nothing in response. Suddenly, he feels a pair of arms wrap around his waist and someone’s breathing against his neck. 

“I love you, Kartik, and I’ll never leave you. Never again,” Aman whispers against his ear and Kartik relaxes in his hold. He lets the tears that gather around his eyes fall. He turns around and faces Aman. Aman cups Kartik’s face and wipes the tears away from his eyes. “Hey, no more tears, remember?” 

Instead of answering, Kartik puts his lips against Aman’s and kisses him. His eyes close at the contact and he wraps his arms around Aman’s waist and pulls him closer. Aman returns the kiss with an equal amount of passion wrapping his arms around Kartik’s neck. At one point, Kartik parts his lips and licks Aman’s bottom lips asking for entrance. Aman parts his own lips and lets Kartik’s tongue enter his mouth. They continue until Kartik runs out of air and pulls away. They breathe heavily for a moment before they both look at each other and smile. 

“I love you too, Aman. So so much,” Kartik answers. Aman kisses Kartik again and when he pulls away, he takes Kartik back into the master bedroom of the house where they continue confessing their love for each other under hushed whispers and the feeling of skin on skin. Before Kartik falls asleep, he takes a look at the man sleeping next to him and thinks, 

  
  


_ This, this is my happy ending.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> penny for your thoughts?   
> did you like how Aman narrated his story? are you satisfied with the confession?   
> i'll post the finale by Saturday or Sunday and the final outro by next Thursday. so keep an eye out. 
> 
> till next time! <3


	22. Scene 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dreamy ending for the dreamy couple

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello hi! this is technically the last chapter for this fic so please enjoy! <3

_ Three years later,  _

  
  


Aman wakes up to a soft kiss being placed on his forehead which makes him smile. 

“Good morning sunshine,” says Kartik, his beautiful husband of nearly two years now. Aman smiles at him and grabs his waist pulling him back into the bed. 

“No, too early,” he complains and places his head on Kartik’s chest. He can’t see Kartik’s face but he knows he has a huge smile on his smile. Kartik places his hand on Aman’s hair and starts playing with it. 

“It’s literally 10 am you dumbass. Wake up, I need to leave,” Kartik says with a laugh, which makes Aman whine. 

“Why?” Aman whines and Kartik laughs. 

“I have an interview in about 3 hours and I need to get ready too. Plus, my personal chef needs to make me breakfast,” Kartik says and Aman opens his eyes to glare at him. He gets up from his comfortable spot only to climb on top of Kartik and pin him down. 

“Personal chef, huh?” He says looking Kartik in the eyes. Kartik gulps and nods, giving him an innocent look. 

“Come here, you,” Aman says and starts tickling Kartik which makes him giggle and squirm. He screams at Aman to stop while laughing but Aman doesn’t. Once he is satisfied, he places a soft kiss on Kartik’s lips and gets up. He runs to the bathroom and flips off Kartik who is still trying to catch his breath before locking the door. 

“I will get you back, you asshole,” Kartik says from the side and Aman laughs. 

  
  
  


“Here is your breakfast,” Aman says and places the plate in front of Kartik. Kartik gives him a kiss on the cheek and starts devouring his breakfast like he had been starving for years. 

“Slow down or you’ll choke,” Aman warns. Kartik goes to reply but ends up choking on his food. 

“Told you,” Aman says and hands him a glass of water before rubbing his back to soothe him. 

“I actually hate you,” Kartik says once he stops coughing. 

“The feeling is very much mutual,” Aman says and slowly takes a bite out of his breakfast, unlike his dumb husband. 

“Anyways, plans for the day. First I’ll complete this interview, then we are going for suit shopping because we have an award function to attend,” Kartik starts and Aman is just about to interrupt when he continues, “and no, you can't get out of it. I’ll pick you up as soon as you are done torturing those poor children,”

“Fine,” Aman rolls his eyes and Kartik slaps his hand before they both laugh and continue their breakfast. 

  
  
  


“Kartik sir, you are up in two minutes,” Rabi says walking into the green room where Kartik is. This is another one of those honest interviews he did before the whole Mukesh Mehra murder case and he is extremely nervous to return back on that stage. 

“Aman, give me strength,” Kartik whispers under his breath and walks out the green room with Rabi and his assistant following him. 

“Well, today’s guest needs no introduction. A star who made his spot in the industry despite so many difficulties in his path at a young age. He is currently one of the most in-demand actors in this industry. He is like tap water, anytime you turn on your tv, he comes whether in movies, tv shows, or commercials. Please give a huge round of applause to the very amazing, Kartik Singh,” the host says and Kartik walks out from the backstage waving at the audience. Once he is in front of the host, he shakes his hand and takes a seat on the couch. 

“So how are you, Kartik? It's been nearly four years since you were last here,” 

“Four years? That’s a long time,” Kartik answers with a laugh. “But yeah, I have been good, amazing even. Also the tap water comparison, my husband will love that,” 

“Speaking of your husband, how are things in that department?” 

“Blissful. I’m really happy with him,” Kartik answers with a lovesick smile on his face.

“Isn’t that amazing to hear?” the host asks and the audience cheers. “But I don’t think many people know about your love story, so tell me. How did you two meet?” 

“The first time we met. That memory is extremely embarrassing to look back at. I had just moved into my new apartment. He came in the elevator at the same time as me and I mistook him for a pervert and screamed his ear off about it,” Kartik says and everyone laughs. 

“So not such a great beginning. How did you two end up getting closer?” 

“Well, it was around the time of the whole murder case. I won’t get into it in detail but he was there for me when the entire world had turned against me. He supported me through the worst time in my life. He saved my life in more than one way. If I have to spend the rest of my life with someone, I’m glad it is him,” 

“Aww, that’s so sweet. But did the marriage happen? How was the proposal?” 

“Honestly there was no proposal. It just happened randomly one night when we were having dinner. He just looked at me and said ‘marry me’ and I just said ‘yeah sure’. Boom the next day we call our family. A week later an engagement party happens and two months later a marriage,” 

“Is that really what happened?” 

“Yep, that is exactly how we got married,” 

“That’s certainly interesting. Speaking of the murder case, are you allowed to talk about it?” 

“Yeah, I am. I just choose not to because it isn’t fair to his family,” 

“That’s incredibly nice of you. But I want to know, why didn’t you sue her?” 

“I just didn’t feel like doing it. I actually understand her reasoning and she got what she deserved for the murder. I saw that she didn’t protest during her arrest and she actually understood what she did was wrong,” 

“Hmmm, I see. Anyways, enough about them, let’s talk about your upcoming movies,” the host says and then they start talking more about his career. 

  
  
  


_ Later that night,  _

  
  


Aman walks into the house with a bag full of stuff that according to Kartik is his necessity before any award function. It contains a bunch of skincare products and momos from Kartik’s favorite restaurant. He places the bag on the table and goes into the kitchen to grab plates for dinner while Kartik walks into the apartment followed by Rabi and Ananya (his assistant) who are holding their suits for the award in their hand. Aman places the plates on the table and waits for them to return from the closet room that Kartik had requested once they moved in together.

Rabi and Ananya insist that they don’t want to stay for dinner so Kartik and Aman let them go. Kartik immediately takes his plate into the living room and turns on the tv. He flips through a few channels before groaning out. Aman looks at him in question and he just pouts before answering, “have we watched every movie in existence, or do these tv channels repeat the same movie a hundred times?” 

“I think the second is the answer. But you can watch something on Netflix,” Aman answers. 

“If I start something, I will feel the urge to finish it. Then I'll not be able to complete the special award show skincare routine in time and look not so presentable tomorrow so no,” Kartik says and flips through the channels again. 

“Your dinner will get cold. Finish that first,” Aman says and Kartik groans out in frustration again before stopping on whatever channel the tv ends up on. He picks up his food and starts eating while complaining about having nothing to watch. 

  
  
  


Aman walks into the balcony with two cups of tea in his hand and hands one of them to Kartik. Kartik takes it with a small thank you and continues staring at the hoarding board. 

“He looks so beautiful, doesn’t he?” Aman says and takes a sip of his tea. 

“No, his face looks so cakey with that much makeup. I have seen his bare face and it looks way more beautiful,” Kartik says and looks at Aman. 

“That, he does,” Aman says with a smile. 

“They should really put his bare face on there, the board will glow like a sun, no light needed,” Kartik says with a whine. 

“Okay, stop it you narcissist,” Aman laughs and Kartik just gives him an innocent smile before drinking his tea. 

“I’m allowed to be a little narcissistic. I worked my ass off to get back on the hoarding board,” Kartik answers. He moves closer to Aman and places his head on Aman’s shoulder. 

“And I’m so proud of you for that,” Aman says and places a kiss on his forehead. 

_ And that is how Aman’s desires became a beautiful reality for them.  _

  
  
  
  


_ The night of the award function,  _

  
  
  


“Hello and welcome back after the commercial break. The red carpet is going on and a lot of celebrities are now arriving. The latest one to arrive is Kartik Singh and his husband who look like they are sporting matching outfits,” one of the hosts says as the camera shows the posing for the pictures. 

“That’s really cute. Oh my god, just look at them. They are the hottest celebrity couple for a reason,” the other host says. 

After Kartik and Aman take enough pictures, Aman walks away and Kartik takes a few more pictures before joining him. They make their way towards the hall where the function is happening but Rabi tells Kartik that he has to do at least two interviews. Kartik rolls his eyes and approaches the reporter that Rabi told him to go to. 

“Kartik Singh, welcome,” the reporter says and Kartik waves at the camera. “How are you doing tonight?” 

“I’m good, a little nervous but overall good,” Kartik answers enthusiastically. 

“Your nervousness is justified. I mean you are nominated for the most prestigious award for the night. The grand prize,” the reporter says and Kartik laughs. 

“Oh my god, it still feels like a dream. I’m so honored to be nominated with such big names in the industry,” Kartik says. 

“What if you win tonight?” the reporter asks.

“I’m sure I’m not winning,” Kartik says and both of them laugh. 

“Anyways, your husband is here tonight with you, is this your first red carpet appearance together after the marriage?” 

“It is. He doesn’t like being in the public eye much but he couldn’t resist coming here tonight,” Kartik answers and looks at Aman who is talking to Rabi and Ananya on the side. 

“And you guys are wearing matching outfits, was that planned?” 

“Of course it was. We started with wanting to wear the same shoes but when we went to the store, we couldn’t resist getting matching outfits,” Kartik says and sees the cameraman pan down the camera to his shoes.  _ The black shoes with golden detailing that started their entire journey.  _

“Well Kartik, thank you so much for your time, we wish you all the best for tonight,” the reporter says and Kartik gives her a thank you and a handshake before going back to where Aman is with Rabi and Ananya. Rabi makes Kartik give one more interview where they ask him similar questions before they finally make their way into the hall. 

Rabi and Ananya leave Kartik and Aman at their designated seat and walk back to where the managers are seated. Aman and Kartik take a seat and wait for the ceremony to start. Aman sees a lot of people coming up to Kartik and greeting him. Some congratulate him for the nomination and some wish him all the best. 

  
  


“And now, for the last award for the night. The grand prize,” the host announces and Kartik sits up a little straighter on his seat. Aman takes his hand and gives it a squeeze which slightly relaxes him. The host calls the people to give the award and announce all the nominees. 

“The winner of the grand prize for the year 2024 is,” they start. Each moment they take to announce the name makes Kartik’s heart rate spike up. He clutches Aman’s hand so tight he won’t be surprised if he managed to cut off Aman’s blood circulation. 

“.....Kartik Singh,” they announce and Kartik feels as if the world just stopped. He looks at Aman who looks back at him with a huge smile on his face. 

“Did they just say my name?” Kartik asks, still in disbelief. 

“Kartik, you did it,” Aman says and gets up from his seat. Kartik follows him and gives him the tightest hug. He pulls away and presses a small peck on Aman’s lips before making his way towards the stage. Once he gets there, they give him a hug and hand him the trophy. He looks at the trophy and his eyes well up with tears. He quickly wipes them away and walks over to the microphone stand. As he looks at the audience, something in his mind clicks. He has seen this before. He tries to remember and then it hits him, all at once. Finally, every piece falls into place. 

“So, um hi? Wow, I didn’t expect to win this, like at all. I didn’t even prepare for a speech. Okay no, that was mostly because my manager asked me to concentrate on my work instead of wasting time on a speech for something I won't win. So thank you so much for that Rabi,” Kartik starts which makes everyone laugh. “But since I'm here on this stage, it doesn’t feel right just leaving without saying anything. But I also don’t want to bore you with the same old thank you speeches. So allow me to tell you a story,” Kartik continues and looks at Aman who mouths a ‘what story?’ at him. Instead of a reply, Kartik just smiles and starts, 

“A few years ago, there was a small boy. He lived a very happy life. He had an amazing family, good social life, and a nice house. But there was one thing, that boy had dreams, or should I say one specific dream. A dream in which he sees a man die. He always saw the man fall from a cruise. The man in his dreams was wearing shoes that were black in color and had golden detailing on them, but he never saw the man’s face. 

Whenever he told someone about the dream, they told him it was just a dream and he was thinking too much about it. Because of that one part of him, he felt isolated from the rest of the people around him. He thought he was crazy. He thought he wasn’t normal. But he had to pretend everything was normal with him or everyone else will leave him. But everything has a limit. One day he just gave up, he just stopped pretending everything was normal and told the first-ever friend he had about his dreams. The friend called him crazy and left him. 

Since then, the boy never bothered anyone else. He pushed away everyone who tried to come near him. He made many enemies because of it but at least he didn’t have to pretend everything was okay when it wasn’t. The boy’s parents were concerned for him. They thought sending their boy to the city would do something good and the boy agreed with them. So at the age of 18, the boy came to the city, all alone. 

But life didn’t change for the boy. The dreams still continued, and so did the boy’s trust issues. He gave himself to the books around him. He read everything that could have the answer to his dreams but he didn’t get any. By the age of 22, the boy had decided that this was his life now and there was nothing he could do to change that. So he made peace with it. 

Until that one fateful day, when things changed for him. The day was like every other day, until the moment he stepped in the elevator and was accused of being a pervert by a man he didn’t know anything about. Apparently, that man was a well-known celebrity but the boy had no interest in him. Well, that was until he saw the man’s shoes, those fucking shoes that haunted him since he was a child. And he was scared. Scared for that man’s life. 

Then the actual day of the incident happened, he succeeded in saving the man’s life. But there was someone else who died that night. The boy heard the killer’s conversation but at that moment he didn’t know that. Slowly, the news started spreading and the man who the boy saved started falling into a ditch. Fate is a weird thing, you know? You don’t know what life has planned for you. 

For that boy, fate had twined the man’s life with his. After that day, the boy’s dreams changed. Now he saw a glass bowl falling from above, a car driving down a cliff and a wire snapping. He didn’t know what these dreams meant but somewhere in his mind, he knew his dreams were connected to the man and he got scared. 

One by one, each dream came true and the boy became convinced that he was the reason the man was suffering so much. He tried to let go of that man but somewhere along the way, he fell for the man. Funnily enough, the man also fell for the boy. The man was strong enough to confess that to the boy but the boy was scared that him being with the man could end up killing the man. So he did everything in his power to keep the man away from him but the man was too stubborn to listen. 

Then the man met with an accident and the boy felt so helpless. It was at that moment, the boy knew that no matter what happens, he couldn’t let go of that man. He couldn’t live without that man. And fate also gave him an opportunity. He helped fate and got the evil out of his and the man’s life,” Kartik recites that story that Aman told him after Shanti got arrested. 

“This story was told to me by my husband. And I remember feeling as if this story was a little incomplete like there was something missing. I finally know what was missing, Aman, I finally know what was missing,” Kartik says and looks at Aman who is slowly making his way towards the stage. 

“What the boy didn’t know was the man was also having dreams, or well one specific dream. But his dream was rather beautiful. The man dreamt of being on a stage, looking at hundreds of people. But none of those faces mattered. Except for one. The one face that was looking at the man with so much love and adoration, the face that changed the man’s face,  _ the one face of the love of his life _ . That face was yours, Aman. It was you. It has always been you,” Kartik says. He looks away to wipe the tears that managed to spill out of his eyes as he was narrating the story,  _ no, their story.  _

He hears footsteps behind him and turns to look. He sees Aman standing there with tears in his eyes but with a smile so wide that it lights up his entire face. 

“You were having dreams about me too?” Aman asks him and Kartik nods. Kartik’s face breaks into a huge smile which mirrors the one on Aman’s face. 

“But I didn't realize it until now,” Kartik answers. Aman moves closer to him and cups his face in his hands. 

“I love you, Kartik Singh. I love you so so much,” Aman answers. 

“I love you too Aman Tripathi. I love you with my entire being,” Kartik answers and leans his forehead against Aman’s. Instead of saying anything else, Aman just presses his lips against Kartik's and moves them. Kartik responds to the kiss with equal passion. They both can hear the people around them cheering and screaming but they tune it out and just focus on each other. 

  
  


_ And this was how fate intertwined two completely different people’s lives together to give them their happy ending.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so thoughts?  
> since this is the last chapter, i want to know what has been your favorite chapter/scene from this fic? for me, i love drunk!Kartik, especially the one where he got drunk after Aman rejected him.  
> the final outro will be up by Wednesday/Thursday.
> 
> see you then x


	23. Outro: The Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But is everything really what it looks like?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't kill me i guess?

_"And cut! That's a wrap on **In Dreams and Film Scenes** ," the director says. _

  
_Ayushmann and Jeetu pull away from the kiss and smile at each other. They had been shooting for the last scene for quite a few times and finally it is done._

  
_The last few months have been long and exhausting for them. But they are really proud of the outcome._

  
_They go around thanking everyone on set. The director announces the wrap up party to be on the next weekend and everyone cheers._

  
_"So, can we call this another win for the Jeetushman Jodi?" the director asks._

  
_"Yes, another win for the Jeetushman Jodi," Ayushmann and Jeetu say in unison which makes them both laugh._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that concludes In Dreams and Film Scenes!  
> this journey was long ajd exhausting for me but thank you all for making it better! if you have any questions about the ending then please ask,
> 
> anyways now a thank you note to everyone who made this possible:  
> first of all, thanks to everyone who voted for this plot. everyone in the sm au updates on twt and my irls   
> second thanks to spine possessors gc who constantly motivated me to continue (or sometimes threaten)  
> next thank you to Mannie (shadesofmannie) for agreeing to feature here  
> lastly and the biggest thank you to Suzy (ThomasParker) for editing and listening to my rants about wanting to quit like 50 times, you da the real one ily
> 
> and thank you all so much for reading! i appreciate it a lot 💜
> 
> twitter: manpasikjeok_

**Author's Note:**

> well how's that for a beginning? i hope you enjoyed this because i have plans~ for this fic.   
> till then, kudos, comments and all type of criticisms are welcomed.  
> see you next time!
> 
> twitter: @snazzy_23onao3


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